(Mon 14 Dec 09)

Forty MINI Es - all-electric versions of the familiar hatchback - have been handed over to members of the public who will use them for six months in the first part of a two-part field trial to "evaluate the psychological, social and technical aspects of living with an electric car".

This trial follows similar ones in North America and Germany. Tim Abbott, Managing Director of BMW Group UK, describes the handover as "historic", and says, "It is fitting that the brand with its inspiration in the oil crisis of the 1950s is again at the forefront of energy efficiency with a car that is guaranteed to put a smile on your face."

Abbott has also thanked BMW's consortium partner Scottish and Southern Energy, Oxford Brookes University, the South East England Development Agency, Oxford City Council and Oxfordshire County Council for their involvement in the project. Further funding has been provided by the UK Government's Technology Strategy Board, which has helped to bring down the cost of leasing a MINI E during the trial period from £550 to £330 per month.

The Technology Strategy Board is also helping to fund the 110-vehicle CABLED (Coventry And Birmingham Low Emission vehicle Demonstrators) consortium, and the first car to be tested is the Mitsubishi i-MiEV which was the subject of a recent feature. 25 examples of the i-MiEV will soon become part of West Midlands Traffic, and they will in due course be joined by electric examples of the smart ed and Tata Indica, as well as the Land Rover Range_e.