Mini shifting EV manufacturing from Oxford to China, Germany – report

Mini’s new vary of electrical automobiles will probably be in-built China and Germany, relatively than on the model’s non secular residence within the UK.

A report for The Occasions revealed the manufacturing of electrical automobiles on the Cowley plant in Oxford, UK, will finish in 2023.

Manufacturing of the substitute for the present Mini Electrical 3-Door will probably be moved to China, whereas the upcoming Mini Countryman EV will probably be constructed alongside its BMW X1 cousin in Leipzig, Germany.

The as-yet unrevealed Aceman, which will probably be smaller than the present Countryman SUV, can even be in-built China as a part of BMW’s three way partnership with Nice Wall Motor.

Manufacturing will proceed in Oxford, nevertheless. Mini has confirmed it’ll maintain constructing internal-combustion fashions within the UK, and has beforehand stated petrol energy will dwell on in its vary till 2030.

“Oxford will all the time be the house of Mini,” a spokesperson instructed The Occasions. The spokesperson stated electrical Minis constructed within the UK would should be made on an meeting line developed by GWM, rather than the prevailing manufacturing traces.

“Oxford is just not equipped for electrical automobiles,” the spokesperson stated. “It is going to want renovation and funding.”

The Occasions experiences the spokesperson offered “no date” for EV manufacturing to return the UK.

Mini will take its first steps towards a brand new, electric-dominated vary in 2023.

Primarily based on the newest data from Mini, its next-generation mannequin rollout will embody the next automobiles:

• The traditional 3-Door Hatch, accessible with petrol and electrical energy. It’s anticipated to be smaller than the present automobile
• The Countryman SUV, grown as much as tackle the Audi Q3 and Mercedes-Benz GLA and with petrol and electrical energy
• A brand new SUV to fit between the 3-Door Hatch and Countryman, known as the Aceman
• One other premium compact automobile in an as-yet unrevealed section, doubtlessly primarily based on the Imaginative and prescient Urbanaut
• A brand new Convertible, due in 2025

The subsequent Mini hatch, the core mannequin for the model and probably the most recognisable form within the vary, will probably be supplied with a alternative of petrol or pure-electric energy when it launches.

It’s not clear whether or not each automobiles will probably be constructed on the identical platform. It’s possible the petrol-powered automobile will probably be constructed on the BMW FAAR platform, a improvement of the UKL platform used beneath the present vary.

These official BMW photographs reveal the electrical Mini Hatch can have tiny overhangs and a extra steeply-raked windscreen than the present automobile.