Mitsubishi and BMW participate in electric car trial event

Mitsubishi and BMW, two of the world’s largest car manufacturers, unveil their flagship electric cars i-MiEV and Mini E respectively at a nationwide test drive event supported by the Technology Strategy Board (TSB).

The flagship cars from Mitsubishi and BMW were both handed to participants for a tryout. BMW’s Mini E car trial earlier began in Oxford where 40 drivers tested the electric vehicle.

BMW informed that the trial, which will run for six months, is intended to assess the social, psychological and technical aspects of owning an electric car. The Oxford Brookes University will collect and analyze the data, which will be then made public when available.

Mini E’s design was patterned from the Mini hatchback with few alterations like the removal of backseats, where the electric car batteries are now stored. The Mini E uses a 201bhp electric motor powered by a 35kWh lithium-ion battery, which provides parallel acceleration to a typical Mini. Moreover, BMW said that Mini E’s overall carbon dioxide emission is roughly at 68g/km.

In the meantime, Mitsubishi’s i-MiEV, a four-door compact city car, was delivered to test drivers in the midlands.

The distributed cars were part of the £15 million Coventry and Birmingham Low Emission Vehicle Demonstrators (CABLED) project. Under the scheme, Indian manufacturer Tata will contribute 25 electric Indicas, Microlab is to provide 10 hydrogen-powered vehicles, Land Rover will deliver five Range_e plug-in hybrid automobiles and LTI will supply five electric-fuelled taxis.

The electrical charging points used in the event and access to the University of Birmingham’s hydrogen fuelling station have been arranged by the E.ON, and the city councils of Birmingham and Coventry.