In a press conference earlier today, BMW confirmed its full-electric plans for the MINI brand. According to BMW CEO Oliver Zipse, the last MINI with a combustion engine, being gasoline or diesel, will be phased out in 2025. The news doesn’t really come as a shock as reports about such a potential turn of events have been going around for years. The move to an all-electric line-up makes sense for MINI, which will now be able to return to its ‘urban conqueror’ status that made it famous in the first place.
Initially it was believed that the target for all-electric MINIs is 2030, but this new report confirms BMW’s aggressive plans to keep up with the fast changing market. By 2027, MINI is expecting to see fully electric vehicles account for more than 50 percent of its sales and, if the sales of the MINI Cooper SE model are anything to go by, that target will be easily achieved.
The next all-electric MINI will be the MINI GP in 2022. Furthermore, MINI also confirmed that the next generation of the midsize Countryman crossover will be available with a fully electric model in 2023. The Countryman will be built in Leipzig starting with 2023 and will most likely share its platform with the upcoming BMW X1 and BMW iX1 models.
Additional electric MINIs will be manufactured in China, in collaboration with local manufacturer, Great Wall Motors, starting with 2023.
