BMW Corrects Itself, Says There Will Be at Least 450 1-Series EVs Leased in the U.S.
By Scott Doggett March 9, 2010
Less than a week after a BMW board member said the automaker would lease "about 200" all-electric 1-Series coupes in the U.S., BMW today distributed a correction, saying that at least 450 of the plug-in electric vehicles would be leased in America.
"Recent published reports have incorrectly stated that the size of the fleet of BMW ActiveEs that will be deployed during the BMW Group's second-phase field trial in the US will be limited to 200 vehicles," the Bavarian automaker said in a statement, without noting the source of those published reports - BMW board member for sales and marketing Ian Robertson.
"While the exact size of the fleet has yet to be confirmed, it will be at least as large as the MINI E fleet which is currently in operation. There are 450 MINI Es on the road in the U.S. right now," the correction on BMW's media Website said.
Rich Steinberg, manager of electric vehicle operations and strategy for BMW, said in the statement that he "would hate for anyone to get the impression that we are backing away from our commitment to EV development or the Megacity Vehicle project. Let me reassure you that nothing could be further from the truth."
"Megacity Vehicle" is the working name BMW has given the electrified four-seat version of BMW's 1-Series coupe. The concept car features ActiveE, a new-generation lithium-ion battery. With it, BMW says the car can go about 100 miles on a full charge.
BMW has not disclosed when leasing of the Megacity Vehicle will begin.
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