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BMW unveiled the first all-electric Mini Cooper. Coming in early 2020, the car will start at around $ 35,000 and run 235 kilometers (146 miles) per charge. Compared to similar-priced electric vehicles on the road, with over 200 miles of autonomy, like the Kona Electric or the Tesla Model 3, the mileage of the Mini seems derisory. Next year, the situation will be even worse when more efficient electric cars hit the road, and the Mini gets a more realistic EPA mileage rating. This is a curious thing to see from a company that was very early for electric cars, and that partly explains why BMW CEO Harald Krueger resigned from his resignation last week.
Krueger was CEO of BMW for four years, shortly after the company's arrival of the company's i3 electric crossover. But in a message to employees who were about to pass the door last week, he allegedly invoked the "huge changes" in the auto industry to justify his departure. BMW, it seems, fell behind the curve under Krueger's gaze.
Bloomberg summarizes some of the things that happened during Krueger's tenure, particularly with regard to his attempts to ensure the sustainability of the builder's activities. It was not pretty. He delayed BMW's first long-range VT, which would have resulted in an exodus of talent in this area. The sales of the i3 have stumbled. It has also been redundant with cars with internal combustion engines at a time when European countries have decided to ban or ban them outright, especially diesel engines. In the midst of all this, the company has lost further market share to rivals like Daimler, owner of Mercedes-Benz.
BMW's vision of the future has become so confusing under Krueger that one of its key executives said just two weeks ago that electric vehicles were "over-treated" at an event where BMW announced a new plan for accelerate the adoption of electric vehicle technology.
It is not surprising then that the new spec sheet of the new electric Mini looks like something announced three or four years ago. It has a respectable power of 184 horsepower for such a small car, but it will only run from 0 to 100 km / h in 7.3 seconds. It's slower than Chevy Bolt, two years old. A longer range version (270 km) will be available for more money, although BMW did not say how a lot more.
BMW is known for the quality of its cars and the Mini brand has fans so loyal that the new electric version will certainly find fans. But while the rest of the industry is undergoing the "huge changes" Krueger has cited, the first all-electric Mini looks more like a surrender of BMW, until – according to News from the automobile – it's a bit more than the i3 shoe technology in the 2014 mini-hard top.
Most people only have to travel 200 to 300 km by car once every few months. So, 146 miles can still do a number of daily commutes. It could also be a welcome addition to its fleet of self-service vehicles, depending on the configuration of this service as a result of the merger with the Daimler Mobility business. In addition, the Mini will not be the only one to have a shorter battery life with a shorter battery life. The adorable Honda E, for example, will have a range of about 124 miles only when it takes off later this year. And BMW's future electric SUVs, such as the iX3 and iX4, should be much better when they arrive.
But BMW was way ahead of the curve when it came to electric and hybrid cars just a few years ago. The new Mini is a sign that Krueger may have lost that advantage.
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