Two new Mini Cooper model electric cars were on display Aug. 19 in the administrative quad at Cerritos College.
BMW gave Cerritos the two cars to provide its staff opportunities to take test drives and lease the vehicles month-by-month.
Cerritos received these new Mini Coopers because of the close relationship the college and its automotive department has with BMW.
“Cerritos is the only college in southern California that received them,” automotive program facilitator Amna Jara said.
The Dean of Technical Division Steve Berklite said the reason why Cerritos is the only college in Southern California to be given the opporunity to experiment with these mini coops is because of the good relationship it has with BMW.
Another unique Cerritos benefit is the price.
BMW is only charging Cerritos College $10 a month to lease the vehicles for a year, which is much less than the $850 a month the average person will pay, Jara added.
This is all part of BMW’s attempt to test out its experimental model mini in the U.S. market.
It released 450 of them into select areas.
According to the official BMW Mini Web site, the new Cooper, dubbed the “MINI E,” will be exclusively tested in the Los Angeles, New York and New Jersey metropolitan areas.
These test areas were chosen by BMW for a variety of reasons; a main one being that the new Mini is better fit to perform in dense traffic areas where lessees could take full advantage of its 100-120 mile range on a full charge of its lithium battery, according to BMW.
The MINI E’s lithium battery fully charges in 50 hours with the provided installed external charging station but a faster dock has been installed in Cerritos to charge it in three hours, said Berklite.
He also stated that the default charging station has an 8-amp and 110-volt capacity whilst the quicker model boasts a 32-amp and 220-volt capacity.
BMW’s test trial requires for lessees to report back with information about their perspectives of the car before and after their usual one-year lease.
However, BMW wants to get the most accurate information it can get about the performance of the MINI E.
Automotive Lab Technician David Roper will be responsible for conducting before and after surveys which include the perception of the car by the driver, mileage during trial, and other details.
One question that is frequently asked by the drivers is if the car is economical, said Berklite.
He explained that to charge the electric car it takes about $2.50-$3 worth of electricity to provide about 100 miles. To get 25-30 miles in a regular car takes about $10-$12.
So to those who drive long distances, he said, it is economical.
