Lease Pricing for BMW ActiveE Set at $499 a Month

The world premiere of the BMW ActiveE Concept took place at this year’s edition of the Geneva Motor Show. The car, which is based on the current BMW 1-Series Coupe, is the second ever electric test vehicle to be created by the BMW Group, and now they’ve revealed the official pricing details for the model that will make its North American Debut at the upcoming New York International Auto Show. Seven hundred BMW ActiveE vehicles will be arriving Stateside beginning this fall in metropolitan New York and other select US metropolitan markets. A 24-month lease will be offered at $499 per month, with a down payment of $2,250. "The BMW ActiveE is part of our ongoing strategy to develop environmentally friendly, yet high-performance vehicles," said Rich Steinberg, manager of Electric Vehicle Operations and Strategy, BMW NA. "It brings us another step closer to the realization of the BMW i3, which we will launch in 2013." In order to help consumers determine if an electric BMW is what they want, a new BMW Evolve app is now available for download from the Apple iTunes Store and later this month in the Android Marketplace. “It was developed with the input of our MINI E drivers and will help drivers track their daily driving habits, regardless of their current car in order to determine if a full-electric vehicle like the BMW ActiveE will fit their lifestyle. More information is available at www.BMWActivatetheFuture.com,” the carmaker says in the official statement. But, unlike the MINI E (which had its entire boot filled with batteries), the ActiveE coms with 200 liters of storage in the back and all the comfort normally associated with such a Bavarian model. Thanks to some clever engineering, BMW has ensured that the driver and all three passengers have the same head, leg and shoulder room as they would in a standard 1-Serires. The ActiveE isn’t exactly slow either, offering a 0 to 60 mph (98 km/h) time of 9 seconds and an lectronically limited top speed of 90 mph (145 km/h). $499 a month might sound like a lot of money, but this should be a very unique experience. autoevolution will be attending the 2011 New York International Auto Show, so stay tuned for some real up close and personal shots of the vehicles, as well as for first-hand details of the motorized contraptions presented at the event.