Looks like Malaysians are starting to warm up to electric vehicle (EV) ownership despite the challenges in finding enough mobile chargers around the country and the issue with battery costs at the end of its lifecycle.
The Mini Cooper SE electric was launched in August 26th and in just one month all 26 units were taken up. At a selling price of RM218,381 (with the sales tax discount provided) this latest Mini comes with 8 years or 100,000 HV Battery Warranty from the manufacturer.
Great Pricing
The regular latest version of the petrol driven Mini Cooper S which was launched in July 2018 for RM226,888 which is some RM8,000 more expensive over this new electric version. Cabin features are almost identical and driving performance seem to lean more towards the new battery powered Mini. It seems that BMW, the owners of the Mini brand are subsidizing the price of this Mini for Malaysia and there must be some added tax benefit from the Malaysian tax office for this Mini EV to be priced lower than its petrol sibling.
Why, because the cost of production of EV’s are still higher than petrol vehicles and this will not change until 2030 according to research done recently in Europe. On average production costs for an EV is about 20-22 per cent higher over petrol vehicle in Europe.
EV Adoption
It looks like wealthy Malaysians are starting to embrace emission free driving and this is a good start to get the EV movement moving in a positive direction.
Charging time and diving range has previously been a stumbling block for EV ownership in Malaysia and with EV technology moving forward fast these issues are slowly disappearing.
This Mini EV can get a quick 30-minute charge using a DC quick charger where the drive will get about 80 per cent of battery capacity, and when fully charged, the MINI Cooper SE will return a range of 234km-270km (depending on which standards are used to measure range). Charging with a MINI Wallbox Plus from 0 power to 80 per cent takes about 2.5 hours.
Ownership Anxiety
So how do you get Malaysians to accept range issues with an EV right now. Well, to start you need to offer a solid back up service and long battery warranty to justify the ownership.
This is why Mini in Malaysia is offering a comprehensive 5 Years Roadside Assistance programme, available for all new MINI vehicles with a comprehensive list of services that include a 24-Hour, 365-days-a-year Accident and Help on the Phone and On the Spot Hotline, Free Towing Services and when needed (over 200KM from residential home), Replacement Vehicle, Seamless Mobility, Accommodation, Mobility Services Solutions as well as Repatriation services.
The above services reduce stress on range anxiety and gives the Mini EV owner more confidence to explore the ownership of an electric vehicle without worrying.
