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.