The Upcoming Fully-Electric Mini Will Be a 3-Door Hatchback
BMW Group confirmed that it has big plans for electrification in the next few years.
With Electric Vehicle sales skyrocketing in the 2010s, more and more car manufacturers are embracing the once controversial technology. BMW Group's success with the i3 and i8 plug-in hybrids have shown the Germans that electrifying their fleet can be a massive boon. While BMW's main lineup is preparing to make the switch, the group also has plans to electrify its subsidiary, Mini.
BMW Group released a statement on Tuesday confirming its future plans for electrification. The first fully-electric Mini will indeed be a three-door hatchback, not a crossover like the Countryman. All of the new Mini's electric parts will be built at the Landshut and Dingolfing plants in Bavaria, which is where the hybrid BMW 5 and 7 Series cars are built. The completed drivetrain will then be transported to Oxford to be mated with the chassis, where the rest of the MINI three-door lineup is assembled.
The zero-emissions MINI joins the i8 Roadster and the plug-in hybrid Mini Cooper S E Countryman as the newest members of BMW's electric fleet, plus the rumored Tesla-killing BMW iNext. Hopefully, we'll hear more about the all-electric in the next year; for starters, a name would help.