Mini E

The Mini E was a demonstration electric car developed by BMW as a conversion of its Mini Cooper car. The MINI E was developed for field trials and deployed in several countries, including the United States, Germany, UK, France, Japan and China. The field testing of the Mini E was part of BMW Project i, which was followed in January 2012 by a similar trial with the BMW ActiveE, and the last phase of project is the development of the BMW i3 urban electric car, that is expected to go into mass production between 2013 and 2015.

The first trial was launched in the U.S. in June 2009 and the Mini E was available through leasing to private users in Los Angeles and the New York/New Jersey area. Another field test was launched in the UK in December 2009, where more than forty Mini E cars were handed to private users for a two consecutive six-month field trial periods. This trial program allowed the BMW Group to become the world's first major car manufacturer to deploy a fleet of more than 500 all-electric vehicles for private use. After the trial program ended some MINI Es will be displayed in museums, other will be shipped back to Germany for further lab testing, and the rest will be dismantled and crushed. The 40 Mini E that participated in the UK trial have been kept in use after the trial ended in March 2011, participating in promotional activities. These electrics cars will form part of the BMW Group UK’s official vehicle fleet for the London 2012 Olympic Games.

All Mini-E vehicles were equipped in the same, exact way, and were equipped similarly to a standard Mini Cooper hatchback. They were painted medium green with a white roof with an EV decal on the roof, and had a black interior.