(November 6, 2008) Early in 2009 MINI USA will lease 500 examples of the battery powered MINI E to customers in California, New York and New Jersey for $850 a month, a spokeswoman confirmed today. While BMW has released photos and some technical details about the car, almost no leasing or price information has been provided until now.

MINI USA spokesperson Nathalie Bauters confirmed a recent report purportedly sourced from MINI USA, indicating the vehicle will be priced at $850 per month. Two previous reports this week had indicated a one-year lease for the MINI E would cost at least $500 per month.

BMW is expected to announce full details of the program when the car is revealed at the Los Angeles Auto Show later this month.

Even at the $850 price, the payments are unlikely to come close to covering the cost of the hand-built prototypes.

The geographic restrictions are due to the specialized service requirements of electric powertrain. Only a few MINI and BMW dealerships will get the equipment and training required to service and monitor the performance of the cars in the field.

Since the whole program is essentially a beta test of the electric drive hardware, BMW will require drivers to come in periodically for check-ups even if the cars are not exhibiting problems. In addition to the geographic restrictions, participating drivers will be required to have a lockable garage for storing the car and locating the 220V wall charger.