A survey sponsored by Mini USA asserts that 73 per cent of consumers believe electric vehicles with ranges of up to 75 miles (120 km) are sufficient for their daily use.
In recent years, car manufacturers have been looking to make the most of developing battery technologies by increasing the driving ranges of their all-electric models.
There are now a number of affordable EVs on the market with ranges exceeding 200 miles (320 km) and Audi recently came under fire after revealing its e-tron has an EPA-estimated range of just 204 miles. The results of Mini’s survey are rather confusing as a result.
In a press release, the British car manufacturers says it surveyed 1004 adults of which 502 were men and 502 were women all over the age of 18. Those behind the survey haven’t detailed the questions they asked consumers but came to the conclusion that a range of up to 75 miles is “sufficient.” Additionally, 63 per cent of consumers said the best way to use an electric vehicle is for commuting or city driving. This all sounds a little too convenient for us.
Mini is in the midst of developing its long-awaited three-door EV and if reports prove accurate, it will could have a battery similar in size to the 42.2 kWh unit of the most-recent BMW i3. The Mini will allegedly have a range of around 120 miles (200 km), significantly less than other similarly-sized EVs like the Nissan Leaf, Tesla Model 3, and Chevrolet Bolt.
Carscoops has reached out to Mini to see if we can get any additional information about the survey and what specific questions were asked to participants. We will update this story when we find out more.