Nigel Sheinwald

The Embassy's open house

The Embassy opens its doors this Saturday as part of EU Open House day - where the embassies of EU members in Washington, DC welcome the public.

These open houses are about more than seeing embassies. Although we are quite proud of our Embassy, this open house is mostly an opportunity to showcase the UK to the American public.

In keeping with one of the top priorities of the UK government, there will be a green theme to our open house. Visitors will have a chance to tour the Residence Gardens, learn how to green their homes and check out the new electric Mini Cooper. We'll also exchange plastic grocery bags with reusable, environmentally friendly bags.

I hope visitors will leave knowing that the UK is a leader on green action.

But equally I hope that they will enjoy a day of British culture and food. The Washington British School will provide entertainment and there will also be traditional British food and whisky available.

In true British fashion, we'll be doing all this rain or shine.

Posted at 15:43 07 May 2009 by Nigel Sheinwald  |  Comments[0]

Launch of the new all Electric Mini: “Mini E”

This week sees the launch of the new all electric Mini. I have particular reason to be happy about this, as I was fortunate to drive one on Monday, at an event held jointly with the German Ambassador. I can confirm that it is possible to get a 6’ 3” Ambassador comfortably into the driving seat of this small but perfectly formed British-German car! The body is built in Cowley, Oxford, with the electric motor and battery shipped from BMW in Germany.

With my first hand experience, I think there are three reasons to celebrate this new twist on a modern icon. With apologies to Jeremy Clarkson…

First, the Mini stands for brilliant British design. It also symbolises youth, confidence, excitement and mobility – in the widest sense of the word. That was true when I was growing up in the sixties in London and remains true today. For those wondering about performance I can reassure you that the new Mini is quick off the mark and great fun too – fully charged it has a range of 120 miles and a top speed of 95mph. The aim of the Mini E’s launch by BMW is to gauge whether there is a sufficient US market by leasing 500 Mini E’s on a trial basis in New York and Los Angeles. 

Secondly, the most significant technical innovation of the all-electric Mini shows that you can have low, or in this case zero carbon, and high growth. That’s good for consumers, good for producers and good for the planet. Low carbon and high growth is of huge importance to the British Government. Last month we hosted a meeting of international experts on electric vehicle technology to get up to 100 innovative low carbon demonstration vehicles on the road by the end of 2010. BMW are also involved.

Thirdly, I’m confident that the new Mini E, being launched on the eve of the original Mini’s 50th anniversary, will also capture people’s imagination and reflect what today’s consumers want: great design, innovation, engineering excellence and a high degree of environmental and social responsibility. I’d like to think that the Mini’s creator, Sir Alexander Issigonis would approve too.

Posted at 12:00 20 November 2008 by Nigel Sheinwald  |  Comments[4]