Big news: MINI has approved plans to build the next-generation electric hatchback at Plant Oxford, meaning that not all EV manufacturing will be outsourced to China, as originally predicted. Full story ahead of a formal announcement right here ⤵️⚡️🇬🇧
► We reveal Mini electric plans in detail The new-generation Mini Electric will be built in the UK after all, CAR magazine can exclusively reveal. An announcement is imminent, with BMW’s board reportedly meeting yesterday to rubber-stamp the decision.
The Plant Oxford factory will switch over to build the new three- and five-door Mini hatches this year. The three-door will be available as a pure electric model, or with 1.5-litre three-cylinder or 2.0-litre four-pot petrol engines. The five-door hatch, depicted in our artist’s impression above, is expected to be strictly combustion initially: customers seeking a more practical zero-emissions Mini will be channelled toward the electric versions of the Aceman crossover or Countryman small SUV.But didn’t BMW say Plant Oxford would lose the Mini Electric? Mini boss Stefanie Wurst said last autumn that while the next Mini Cabriolet would return to Oxford , the next wave of electric cars were set to be built in China. That’s certainly true: BMW has established a joint-venture with Great Wall Motors called Spotlight Automotive, and production of the Aceman crossover is confirmed for the Jiangsu factory. However a source told CAR that with Mini’s volume target rising from 293,000 to 500,000 annual sales by 2030, and with Mini pledging to be all-electric by the end of that year, it would need more electric factories. Other plants in the BMW network were invited to make a case for investment, and Plant Oxford made the winning argument.It’s great news for UK plc, with tooling being installed to build models underpinned by the new A0 architecture shared with Great Wall: the new Ora Funky Cat is based on this components set. The all-new electric Mini Cabriolet, which goes into production in 2025, will also be offered as a zero emissions model. The April 2023 issue of CAR reveals all the next-generation Minis: hatchback, Countryman, Aceman, Countryman and Cabriolet, plus some more emotional variants. A five-door coupe and small city car are under consideration, among other variants. Click here to read the feature, scooping key product details, in full and for free on our exclusive Members’ websiteThe first-generation Mini Electric was very much a v1 and we can expect to see future generations of battery-powered Mini innovate more and more. And it won’t be a single electric model: a raft of Minis, in every which size and shape, are preparing to plug in. Mini says it’s going all-in on sustainability. Its next-generation cars won’t feature any leather in their interiors, and they’ll do away almost entirely with chromed plastic trim. The brand will also reduce the number of components in its cars in an effort to help preserve resources. The design drive operates under the heading of Charismatic Simplicity. The Germans do love a pithy tagline…will be slightly smaller than the model it replaces, and it’ll be launched as an electric car primarily – although there will be a petrol-engine model available. That’s a marked difference from the brand’s current “petrol-first” attitude towards the car.Wurst’s predecessor as Mini boss, Bernd Körber, back in 2021 and he revealed that petrol-powered versions of the next Mini hatchback won’t stick around forever – they’ll only be on sale until 2025. ‘But here’s the surprise,’ he said. ‘The visual difference between the two cars will be hard to spot. How come? Because we won’t mess with our prime icon. A Mini is a Mini, no matter whether it is battery- or petrol-powered.’ What’s going to happen to the five-door variant, you ask? It’ll soldier on in combustion-engine form for the time being – but there won’t be a battery-operated equivalent.Mini’s next-generation Countryman will take another leap of faith , growing even larger than before. It’ll also be the first Mini ever made in Germany, with production shifting to Leipzig. This is partly due to efficiency – the new Countryman will be based on the same platform as the latestKörber said: ‘The plan is […] to position the bigger third-generation Countryman SUV about half a notch above the current model.’ He doesn’t see an issue with offering the car with both combustion and electric power either, stating: ‘Thanks to the modular layout, there should be no practical downside for either drivetrain option.’Reading between the lines, it seems that Mini will use the second half of the decade to move its bookends further apart. At the lower end of the company’s line-up, we expect to see a smaller three-door electric hatch which takes influence from the Rocketman concept. This city car could eventually replace the barely larger next-generation three-door hatch. Mini’s throwing caution to the winds at the other end of the scale, as the company is expected to launch a production version of the outlandish
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