First Delivery of BMW Mini E All Electric Vehicle

Peter Trepp and His Newly Delivered Mini E







Here we go. The $850 per month Mini E has started rolling out to customers. About 200 will be delivered to California customers and 200 to NY/NJ customers. Basically, BMW is using this program as a "test drive" to gather data for future EV projects and at the end of one year, the electric Minis must be returned. If the vehicle delivers as promised, then returning the car would be very difficult indeed.

From USA Today:

Peter Trepp just can't keep his foot off the accelerator of his new Mini E. Sure, it's supposed to be an earth-friendly car. He even says he's trying to learning to nurse it around town to get the best range. He points out the "power meter" on the dashboard aimed at helping drivers conserve energy. But he admits the acceleration from a complete stop is so breathtaking, he become a lead-foot. "I've been racing it a bit," Trepp admits.

Trepp, a venture capitalist specializing in green industries, has become the first customer to lease a new Mini E. BMW's Mini has made 500 of the cars that it is

leasing for about $850 a month to learn more about how electric cars will hold up in service. Trepp has Number 111. Interviewed by Open Road at this home this weekend, he says he's not sure why he was picked as the first customer -- except maintaining a blog on his electric-car experience apparently didn't hurt matters. (Click here to see it.)

He picked up his car Friday and crawled 30 miles home through the usual obscene Los Angeles traffic to the Pacific Palisades section of Los Angeles, where he says the neighbors have already taken notice. On Saturday, he showed it off to about 100 guests at a party at his home. A car has close up to really see the E-features. The silver Mini E is emblazoned in fairly low-key fashion with a few electric-plug graphics but nothing that shouts to the world that it has a unique powerplant underneath its sheet metal. Trepp says he's going to try to gets splashier graphics.

The Mini E will become the third car in the Trepp household. Married with two young boys, Trepp says he plans to hang on to his Audi Q7 SUV and the Toyota Prius. The Mini will have a comparatively easy life since Trepp's commute is only about 15 miles roundtrip a day to nearby Santa Monica. He'll charge up the car from a 240-volt outlet that was installed in his garage. The Mini E can go about 156 miles between charges, says BMW. It has no auxiliary engine, like the small gas-engine that will be part of the Chevrolet Volt. Trepp figures it will be perfect for his commute. The Mini E is no family vehicle -- not with the backseat filled by 600 poundsof batteries, the same type that power laptop computers. But still, Trepp may have trouble keeping it to himself. His wife, Suzanne, has "gotten behind the wheel and she loves it."