[1] The four-seater, rear-wheel drive ActiveE was unveiled at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit in January 2010.

The lessee had to complete online surveys and take their ActiveE into their local BMW dealership for analysis and service periodically.

[citation needed] The electric car had a 32 kWh lithium-ion battery pack developed in cooperation with SB LiMotive and an all-electric range of 160 kilometres (99 mi).

[6][8] The ActiveE had an EcoPro mode that retards throttle response, shuts down the defrosters and tweaks the climate control to boost efficiency by up to 10%.

[6][8] The ActiveE comes with all the standard ConnectedDrive[clarification needed] features including navigation, Sirius satellite radio, Google Local Search and Send-to-Car functionality, and a range of connected apps that normally come in higher-spec models.

[9] Like other electric vehicles with use of the motor for regeneration of battery power, the Active E had a different driving experience from a car powered by an internal combustion engine: taking pressure off of the accelerator pedal results in deceleration as the motor brakes and regenerates electricity.

[citation needed] The US Environmental Protection Agency official range is 151 km (94 mi), with a city/highway combined energy consumption of 33 kWh/160 kilometers.

[6] This trial was as a follow-up to the Mini E field testing and as a second phase of BMW's Project i[broken anchor].

[19] As thanks for their participation in the trial lease program, ActiveE drivers enjoyed priority ordering the BMW i3 and the first batch of cars was allocated to these customers with delivery scheduled for the end of April 2014, ahead of the American market launch in May.

[20] A total of 160 ActiveEs were deployed during the London 2012 Summer Olympics as part of BMW fleet of 4,000 low-emission vehicles allocated to transport dignitaries and officials during the Olympiad.