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BMW does the electric Mini
BMW announced a program to experiment with different electric drivetrains in the Mini Cooper.
Wayne Cunningham Managing Editor / Roadshow
Wayne Cunningham reviews cars and writes about automotive technology for CNET's Roadshow. Prior to the automotive beat, he covered spyware, Web building technologies, and computer hardware. He began covering technology and the Web in 1994 as an editor of The Net magazine.
If you had any doubts about an upcoming era of electric cars, put them aside. BMW announced it is testing electric powertrains in the Mini Cooper. Over the next year and a half, BMW will use a fleet of several hundred Minis to experiment with electric drive systems and, according to the press release, "determine the alternative drive of the future." If any company can do it, it's BMW. There are no current details about what motors and types of batteries BMW will use, but the company promises details by the end of the year.