MINI is a tiny car company with big plans. The automaker is planning to realign their model range focusing on improving drivetrain technology, vehicle segments, and services of the future. Committing to the crossover and premium compact segments and strengthening the company’s market position in China are also on the roster. The heart of those plans is a shift toward electromobility.
“MINI was always the answer to very special challenges relating to individual mobility. And the willingness to reinvent the status quo continues to shape the brand to this day,” commented Bernd Körber, Head of MINI. “Alongside electromobility, harnessing new target groups and sales markets will be crucially important for the future of MINI.”
MINI’s history goes back a long time. Here, the 1959 Morris Mini-Minor.Photo courtesy of MINI
In the 20 years since the brand was relaunched, around four million vehicles have been produced at MINI’s plan in Oxford, England. and delivered to more than 100 countries across the world.
The MINI lineup is now broader than ever before. The roster has expanded include the MINI Countryman in a very competitive vehicle class. About 40 percent of all the brand’s vehicles sold across the world, are in this class. John Cooper Works versions of the cars account for approximately five percent of the total sales of the MINI brand. Electrified models are steadily gaining in popularity, traditionally amounting to five percent of the brand’s total sales. That number jumped to 10 percent following the launch of the MINI Electric.
MINI has hinted that more efficient combustion engines (diesel and petrol) and additional electric vehicles are in the future. A completely electrified model family is on the horizon.
“We are pursuing the Power of Choice approach followed by the BMW Group through our broad range of advanced petrol and diesel engines, the plug-in hybrid system and all-electric drive, in order to meet the needs and aspirations of our customers throughout the world,” said Körber. “This enables us to create the conditions for further growth in global automobile markets.”
The future core portfolio of all-electric vehicles will include the MINI 3-Door Hatch, a new crossover model in the small-car segment, and a compact crossover model. The brand’s small-car models and a crossover model in the compact segment will be available with internal combustion engines.
The new crossover model will only be offered with an all-electric drivetrain. The next-generation Mini Countryman will be available with both combustion engines and an electrified drivetrain.
In light of the upcoming changes, MINI is promising that MINI models will not lose their identity.
“It is part of our responsibility to the brand and the community to preserve the unique character of MINI,” says Bernd Körber. “That is why every new model from our brand in future will be unmistakably a MINI.”
