MINI rethinks EV strategy

The first local shipment of MINI Electric Hatch vehicles may be sold out Down Under, but that hasn’t stopped MINI Australia announcing an attractive finance deal for its first EV.

What’s more, it will be available to all 100 customers who snapped up the first batch of MINI EVs, first deliveries of which took place this week, after its $59,990 drive-away price tag was announced in May – as well as new orders, which won’t be filled until the second quarter of 2021.

MINI says its Dynamic Mobility Package is designed to ease would-be electric car owners into the progressive world of EV ownership, by bundling all the necessary hardware and a range of new ownership benefits into a simple four-year finance offering.

Perhaps most interesting is the ability to hand back your MINI Electric after two or four years for no extra cost if you decide EV ownership isn’t for you or your personal situation changes.

But MINI is also offering buyers “the option to swap out their city-slicking Electric Hatch for a long-haul-capable Countryman to take for a weekend away” once a year.

Also included is the MINI Wallbox charging system, plus cables for charging the vehicle at public stations. The MINI Wallbox can charge the MINI Electric’s battery to 80 per cent of capacity in less than four hours at an owner’s home or work.

Finally, a five-year MINI Service Inclusive package and five-year MINI Roadside Assistance is also included “to further streamline the process of running and maintaining the vehicle”, says MINI.

The price of all this peace of mind? Not that much really.

The finance offer is based on a vehicle price of $61,900 with no additional extras over the standard MINI Cooper SE, as it’s officially called. That’s $2000 more than the MINI Electric’s drive-away price of $59,900 (which in turn is $5100 more than its retail list price of $54,800 plus on-road costs).

Buyers must pay an initial $3000 deposit and then 24 monthly instalments of $1191.66 ($275 per week for the first two years), for a total amount payable of $28,599.84.

After this first 24-month term, owners can choose to return the car with no penalty, having paid a 4.99% per annum comparison rate for the finance.

If owners choose to continue for another two years, another 24 monthly instalments of $423.98 apply (equalling $98 a week), totalling another $10,175.52.

After the second 24-month term or a total of four years, owners have three choices:

- Keep the car and pay a guaranteed future value equal to $28,052 to own it outright
- Keep the car by refinancing with MINI Financial Services for the same amount
- Return the car to MINI penalty-free, depending on vehicle condition and mileage up to 40,000km

By our calculations, the first option equates to $9927 more than the MINI EV’s total up-front drive-away price, but includes the wallbox and five years of servicing and roadside assist, plus the convenience of spreading payments out.

Of course, refinancing the residual value amount after four years will cost you more, while returning the car at that point will have cost you $41,775 over 48 months.

“The MINI Dynamic Mobility Package, developed in conjunction with MINI Financial Services, is the ideal accompaniment and takes all the hassle out of ownership to encourage more MINI urbanites to come forth and embrace the EV lifestyle,” said MINI Australia and New Zealand general manager Brett Waudby.