The next e-mini comes from China

Mini has two platforms for its core model. BMW takes over the development of the combustion version, China partner Great Wall takes care of the electric version.

The transformation towards electromobility fits as well with few automobile brands as it does with Mini. The British BMW subsidiary is considered hip, cool and stylish. The core model, the three-door mini, embodies this image in a particularly impressive way. But it was not until late that the Munich board of directors decided to initially bring at least this Mini as an electric version. Cooper SE has been on the market since the beginning of 2020. Technically, however, it is a compromise solution. The electric mini carries the adapted drive and battery technology of the BMW i3 under the sheet metal. However, this does not detract from the fun of driving. On the contrary, no other small car is so tight around the corner. 

There will still be one last combustion convertible

Now Mini is announcing that it wants to become a fully electric brand - and soon. In 2025, a completely new model with a combustion engine is to come onto the market for the last time. This is the mini convertible. Assuming the usual life cycle of seven years, Mini is likely to only offer fully electric models in the new car trade at the beginning of the next decade. According to Munich, their share of sales should be at least 2027 percent as early as 50.

Mini wants to present the new generation of its cult car as early as 2023. The three-door will be fully electric, but also as a gasoline engine. Industry experts expect that the 1,5-liter three-cylinder, known internally as the B38, will no longer be used due to the strict Euro 7 emissions legislation and that only the two-liter four-cylinder (B48) will be allowed to survive. The platform strategy is a curiosity: the next Mini will be based on two different architectures, depending on the drive. In the case of the combustion version, the technology comes from BMW, the electric platform comes from Spotlight, the joint venture with the Chinese car maker Great Wall. The reasons are clearly in the cost structure. Equipping the new Mini with the electric drive package (5th generation) from BMW would simply have been too expensive. It is reserved for the iX3, i4, iX and future BMW models. In addition, the installation conditions in the Mini would probably not allow this transplantation. But things can be done much cheaper in China. Great Wall also takes over the production of the E-Mini. 

X1 platform for Mini

The new edition of the Countryman is also planned for 2023. The model strategy here looks like this: The technical basis is the next BMW X1 (debut in 2022). Both it and the Countryman will then be available as gasoline, diesel, plug-in hybrid and fully electric models. Both vehicles are built in Leipzig. It seems that Mini is planning a second, slightly smaller Countryman, which will probably have a different name. This crossover vehicle should then replace the five-door Mini in 2024, which is currently following sales expectations.

The station wagon, the Clubman, is also not looking rosy. Its share in the portfolio is now moving towards the single-digit percentage range. The search is therefore for a solution that will replace both problem children and at the same time lead the Mini brand into the future. Rumors are growing that the BMW headquarters are thinking about implementing a series version of the “Vision Urbanaut” study. The van is only 4,46 meters long and offers a multifunctional interior.

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