Photo: via Bobo Car Review
On November 29, 2019, BMW announced its new Mini E vehicles would be produced in the city of Zhangjiagang in China’s Jiangsu Province. The 160,000-unit plant that was going to be built there was the result of a joint venture with the Great Wall. For some weird reason, it seems that the British were caught by surprise when BMW confirmed it would not make electric Minis at the Cowley plant in Oxford.
The German company reinforced to The Telegraph that the new generation Mini E would be made exclusively in China, while the electric Countryman will be manufactured in Leipzig, Germany. According to Stefanie Wurst, the new head of Mini, the Cowley plant needs “renovation and investment” to make electric vehicles – even if it will make the current Mini E until next year.
Wurst also said that the company would not fire any of the Cowley workers because they would still produce the next generation of the three-door and five-door hatchback with a combustion engine. For a country that has pledged to stop selling cars powered only by gasoline or diesel by 2030, that must have struck them as a red flag.
There are plenty of reasons for BMW to concentrate on producing electric cars in China. That country dominates lithium-ion cell manufacturing and the raw materials they need. One of legacy carmakers' main struggles right now is to reach cost parity between ICE vehicles and electric automobiles. BMW made a deal with a sizeable Chinese carmaker to try to achieve that goal with a small car, as premium as it may be.
Andy Palmer helped create the Nissan Leaf, led Aston Martin as its CEO for a while, and has been a fierce advocate of preparing the UK automotive industry for electrification. He took The Telegraph story as a warning that the British government needs to rush if it wants the country to keep manufacturing vehicles. When you realize that there are only British brands left, not British car companies apart from tiny ones in terms of volumes, it may already be too late.
Wurst also said that the company would not fire any of the Cowley workers because they would still produce the next generation of the three-door and five-door hatchback with a combustion engine. For a country that has pledged to stop selling cars powered only by gasoline or diesel by 2030, that must have struck them as a red flag.
There are plenty of reasons for BMW to concentrate on producing electric cars in China. That country dominates lithium-ion cell manufacturing and the raw materials they need. One of legacy carmakers' main struggles right now is to reach cost parity between ICE vehicles and electric automobiles. BMW made a deal with a sizeable Chinese carmaker to try to achieve that goal with a small car, as premium as it may be.
Andy Palmer helped create the Nissan Leaf, led Aston Martin as its CEO for a while, and has been a fierce advocate of preparing the UK automotive industry for electrification. He took The Telegraph story as a warning that the British government needs to rush if it wants the country to keep manufacturing vehicles. When you realize that there are only British brands left, not British car companies apart from tiny ones in terms of volumes, it may already be too late.
I’ve been warning U.K. politicians of all colours of the risk of losing our car industry by failing to tool the supply chain for EV manufacturing. After Honda’s departure, losing Mini EV is a huge blow given EV’s will represent all car sales here by 2030. https://t.co/9qrgMKSq2b
— Dr. Andy Palmer (@AndyatAuto) October 15, 2022
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