Photo: MINI
Come 2020, BMW’s British brand MINI will enter the electric car market en force with a car that has been described as the first electric car of the premium small car segment: the Cooper SE. To be sold globally, the car will be assembled from next year in the UK, and starting with the year 2022 in China as well.
The electric MINI for the local market will be produced by a new joint venture set up by the German carmaker and its old Chinese partner, Great Wall Motors. To be called Spotlight Automotive Limited, the company will handle production of the MINI SE in a brand new facility to be erected starting 2020.
BMW say together with Great Wall it will invest about €650 million ($715 million) to build the facility by 2022, and it should ultimately employ 3,000 people and produce 160,000 cars each year.
“This joint venture will enable us to produce a larger number of MINI-brand-fully electric vehicles at attractive conditions for the world market,” said in a statement Nicolas Peter, member of the Board of Management of BMW AG, responsible for Finance.
“This is also an important strategic step for the MINI brand. The joint venture with Great Wall underlines the enormous importance of the Chinese market for us.”
Priced from under $30,000 in the U.S., the electric MINI is powered by a 32.6 kWH lithium-ion battery and an electric motor mounted on the front axle. The battery is good for an yet undisclosed number of miles, but estimates put it somewhere at 114 miles EPA (183 km).
Despite the rather small reach of the car, performances are on par with other MINI models now available. The electric motor can accelerate the SE to 100 km/h in 7.3 seconds, and the car tops at 150 kph (93 mph).
MINI did not say whether the specs for the Chinese market would be different.
BMW say together with Great Wall it will invest about €650 million ($715 million) to build the facility by 2022, and it should ultimately employ 3,000 people and produce 160,000 cars each year.
“This joint venture will enable us to produce a larger number of MINI-brand-fully electric vehicles at attractive conditions for the world market,” said in a statement Nicolas Peter, member of the Board of Management of BMW AG, responsible for Finance.
“This is also an important strategic step for the MINI brand. The joint venture with Great Wall underlines the enormous importance of the Chinese market for us.”
Priced from under $30,000 in the U.S., the electric MINI is powered by a 32.6 kWH lithium-ion battery and an electric motor mounted on the front axle. The battery is good for an yet undisclosed number of miles, but estimates put it somewhere at 114 miles EPA (183 km).
Despite the rather small reach of the car, performances are on par with other MINI models now available. The electric motor can accelerate the SE to 100 km/h in 7.3 seconds, and the car tops at 150 kph (93 mph).
MINI did not say whether the specs for the Chinese market would be different.
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