derBayerische January/February 2023 - 25

2 0 2 3 M I N I C O O P E R E L E C T R I C
to capturing Tesla's " cool " factor
because they fail to understand and
appreciate that Tesla is an ecosystem,
while for the OEMs, EVs are
just another product offering.
Having the same company that gave
us the Ford Pinto issuing a " stop
driving " recall on their Mach-E
does not inspire market confidence.
Factors (1) and (3) are related.
■ (From the Left) Typical charging time. Why EVs are an alternative in California.
requires four items:
(1) Great, affordable, practical
" gotta have it " products.
(2) A willing, sizable market.
(3) A reliable charging station
network.
(4) A supporting electric grid.
Let's examine each factor.
Factors (1) and (2) are very similar.
There are great products and there
are EV zealots. In fact, there is a
small, yet loyal, group of BMW EV
zealots (calling themselves the
" Electronauts " ) that have purchased
and cheered on every BMW EV from
" trial " 2009 MINI EVs, the Active-e 1
Series, as well as the i3. Interesting
vehicles, all with very limited (well
under 100 mile) range. It was a
lack of range that limited the market
appeal of the aforementioned
product,. and the 110-mile range of
the 2023 MINI EV will limit its mass
market appeal. All the OEMs are
looking at Tesla's sales success,
comparing that to their own lack of
success. No OEM will come close
Outside of Silicon Valley, the fastcharging
station network was very
spotty. Less than 25% of the EVgo
stations we found outside the
Silicon Valley were operational.
The average charging to 80% was
25 minutes; to 100% was 36
minutes. That's a significant consideration
because all the charging
stations we located outside Silicon
Valley were NOT at very desirable
locations. -which could explain why
most of the charging stations were
not operational. However, the
average " refueling " charge was less
than Northern California's price of
two gallons of premium gas (it's
over $7.00/gallon).
In terms of factor (4), during
our evaluation period the local utility
company, PG&E, announced
upcoming brownouts and blackouts
because of the anticipated extreme
heat. When you factor in our antiquated
grid (the annual R&D expenditure
of the pet food industry is
more than that of the utility companies)
and the fact that our electricity
is generated by burning fossils
fuels, one has to question the true
environmental impact of EVs.
There is a lot to like about the
2023 MINI Cooper EV. It will
expand the market appeal of the
MINI brand and, if someone lives in
an area with a robust, reliable network
with fast chargers, it is a good
alternative to internal-combustionengine
vehicles. The true market
acceptance test will be to see how
many " Electronauts " buy this car
.
■ (Left) It's not just FINDING a
fast charger, it's finding one that
WORKS.
January I February
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derBayerische January/February 2023

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