Mini goes electric

The iconic Mini is going electric. Set to make its debut at the Los Angeles Auto show in November. The car will be rolled out to select private and corporate customers in California, New York and New Jersey before the end of the year.

Powered by a 150kW rechargeable lithium-ion battery, it will have a range of 240km per charge. Maintaining BMW’s commitment to performance, the car accelerates to 100km/h in 8.5 seconds.

The company said this project will allow it to gain widely applicable hands on experience it will be able to factor into the engineering of mass produced vehicles.

Based on the current Mini it will be available as a two-seater, with the space ordinarily taken up by back seat passengers used by the lithium-ion battery.