MINI has outlined its brand strategy for the medium-term future and it's one in which electrification features highly. The company says that by 2027 electric vehicles will make up 50 per cent of its global sales and the main thrust of its product offensive to achieve that will begin from 2023.
That year will see MINI launching a new, small, fully-electric crossover vehicle as well as the replacement for the current generation of Countryman, which will be sold in both electric and internal combustion-engined formats.
New electric models
According to other hints that MINI has dropped lately, that small crossover is likely to be a rival for cars such as the Peugeot e-2008 and Hyundai Kona Electric, while the Countryman is set to move up a segment size. As such, by 2023, the company's electric line-up will consist of the new crossover, the electric Countryman and the MINI Electric. The performance side of the brand isn't being neglected either with electrified John Cooper Works models also in the pipeline.
The company is set to phase out plug-in hybrids in favour of pure-electric models and is to launch its last internal combustion model in 2025.
Thanks to the MINI Electric and Countryman plug-in hybrid, electrified cars currently make up 15 per cent of the company's global sales, though so far this year electrified models have made up 46 per cent of MINI's sales in Ireland.
Circular vision
The recent BMW i Vision Circular concept unveiled at the IAA Mobility show in Munich was an indication from the BMW Group that, going forward, it would focus on "circularity" - or the use of recycled and secondary waste materials in its production processes in order to reduce its environmental impact.
MINI has given some idea, too, of its plans in that regard. It is currently increasing its use of secondary raw materials including aluminium and, in the future, plans to use natural fibres and recycled plastic bottles in place of leather, as well as making its floor mats from recycled fishing nets. At present, MINI says, over 90 per cent of the material in its EV batteries can be recycled and they, like other EV batteries, can be used for stationary power storage after their use in a car. Regrettably, the minimalist MINI Strip concept that made extensive use of recycled and secondary material such as cork, isn't scheduled for production.
Expansion plans
Another aspect of the company's realignment involves its production facilities. In order to expand its presence in China, the world's biggest car market where it already sells 10 per cent of its products, MINI has partnered with a local company to setup a plant in the east of the country to supply locally-produced cars to the Chinese market.
The 2023 Countryman will be built in BMW's Leipzig plant, making it the first MINI to be produced in Germany. Production at MINI's Oxford plant in England will continue apace with the next generation of MINI Convertible to also be built there from 2025.