An all-electric version of the MINI Hatch has been confirmed for production in 2019 by the BMW Group, with the car set to be assembled in Britain at the MINI plant in Oxford.
It’s one of the next big steps in the BMW Group’s broad electrification strategy, as the firm plans to electrify every model across its three car brands in some way, be it with full-electric or hybrid powertrains.
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Additional BMW Group models will be added beyond 2020, and the group’s ‘next generation vehicle architecture’ will be designed in such a way to enable all cars using it to be offered with all-electric powertrains.
Regarding the MINI EV, BMW says that it will be a battery-electric version of the brand’s core three-door hatchback model. The powertrain itself will be built in Germany, but final assembly will take place here in Britain at the brand’s Oxford-based plant.
A production electric MINI has been brewing for a while. Back in 2009, the BMW Group launched trials of the MINI E – a demonstration EV based on a converted MINI Cooper. The MINI E never went on sale, but the project is partly responsible for spawning the BMW i3.
The upcoming production electric MINI has already been touted too – last year, BMW Group financial reports strongly suggested both a MINI EV and an all-electric version of the BMW X3 SUV, which has now also been confirmed and will launch in 2020.
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