[Mini EV News]

Mini sales are on a decline as more and more shoppers are going the SUV route these days. In fact, the brand’s sales in America has dropped 10% in October to 38,456 vehicles. Peter Schwarzenbauer, a BMW board member and Mini’s boss, spoke with Automotive News and said the Mini brand could eventually become an all-electric company in the States.

"It’s really only in the U.S. where we are facing this with Mini," he insisted. "The way for Mini in the U.S. is building the Mini brand in the direction of becoming the electric urban mobility company."

Of course developing a new electric lineup won’t be cheap, especially not when you’re trying to fit a battery pack inside a smaller frame while still giving the vehicle enough range to be competitive in its segment. Thus the rumor of BMW’s hunt for partners to lower research and development costs, though this has not been confirmed by the German automaker themselves.

In the meantime, we have Mini’s upcoming electric vehicle to look forward to. Currently, all Mini cars are built in BMW’s production plant in Oxford, England, and this model will be no different. The Mini EV’s launch should take place some time in 2019.

 

[MiniFootPrint]

Given how much BMW has planned for its own EV growth aside from what they will do to brands they own, you can safety say every Mini product will electric around the same time new Mini's launch along with new electric BMW's. It just makes financial sense.

 

[Greenie]

Nothing wrong with more variety in the EV segment and if Mini decides to go all in as an electric company, then that means we can expect some amazing vehicles from them. All that research and development money will go electric instead of gas development.

 

[Greenie]

May as well do what they can to salvage the Mini badge and a heavier electric model may be more appealing to those who dwell in the north. One complaint my friend had was how light the Mini was and it couldn't dig its own path in new snow, had to follow other car's tracks. That's what put me off from getting a Mini.

 

[Greenie]

So the change to an all-electric brand isn't set in stone yet, because they're going to wait and see how the electric Mini will do after its launch in 2019. So it's expected to be business as usual until then, but I wouldn't mind seeing more electric options even before then.

http://europe.autonews.com/article/20171213/COPY/312159999/minis-switch-to-electrics-hinges-on-2019-launch

 

[MiniFootPrint]

So the change to an all-electric brand isn't set in stone yet, because they're going to wait and see how the electric Mini will do after its launch in 2019. So it's expected to be business as usual until then, but I wouldn't mind seeing more electric options even before then.

http://europe.autonews.com/article/20171213/COPY/312159999/minis-switch-to-electrics-hinges-on-2019-launch

Well a large part of it is the fact they will be sharing a lot with BMW, so odds are as we see test mules show up some Mini's will be part of it. There's just no way it won't be part of that and thus... all but confirmed. I'd say give it till the end of Q2 of 2018 for confirmation. That's when the last of the major shows are over.

 

[Greenie]

Mini may or may not go full electric, but they're certainly going all out with the marketing portion of their first EV. They already have a list of ad agencies lined up in preparation for the new EV. Personally can't wait to see what ads they come up with for the digital age.

 

[Coops]

Well lets hope the new electric platform pulls Mini away from the common association to the reliability concerns, found in older generations. As they will be sharing the platform will BMW, I think its safe to say that these issues should be widely addressed, and obviously electrics have less moving pieces. Wonder what the price difference between an entry level mini and a 3 series ev will be.

 

[MiniFootPrint]

Mini may or may not go full electric, but they're certainly going all out with the marketing portion of their first EV. They already have a list of ad agencies lined up in preparation for the new EV. Personally can't wait to see what ads they come up with for the digital age.

Mini will go down that path because with what they typically sell to the market and what the market needs going forward (EV's), Mini vehicles are the perfect candidates for it. An even bigger point is the fact that Mini is included in BMW's EV platform development program.

 

[Coops]

A brand new platform is a smart idea for Mini and if we see successful sales with the Mini EV I think we may see them stay on that trend. With how many different ICE variants the Mini has, I wonder if they would plan on releasing an EV model of each. Wonder what we could expect out of an EV Cooper S.

 

[Coops]

All electric may be a smart move for Mini as the new platform will reduce the odds of mechanical/reliability concerns of which they are notoriously known. The switch to solely EV will likely depend upon the success of its first generation, so lets hope it delivers on the cost and utility that drivers are in the market for.

 

[Coops]

The shift to all electric makes sense, as they have much lower ownership/maintenance costs. The success of Mini EV will likely determine whether or not this is best route for Mini, in terms of drawing sales and consumers back to the brand. Seeing as how BMW has serious plans for the electric segment, I'm sure it wont be too costly for them to share platforms amongst various Mini ev models/trims.

 

[MiniFootPrint]

The shift to all electric makes sense, as they have much lower ownership/maintenance costs. The success of Mini EV will likely determine whether or not this is best route for Mini, in terms of drawing sales and consumers back to the brand. Seeing as how BMW has serious plans for the electric segment, I'm sure it wont be too costly for them to share platforms amongst various Mini ev models/trims.

It was done more to save the world rather than for any convenience or benefit to us but to sell it, they have to include value or some new alternative. With Billions of barrels of oil around you can bet there are people who still want to sell it and that's just the oil we know about now.

 

[Coops]

I meant that it makes sense in terms of attracting new buyers/owners to the brand. It certainly doesn't seem like electric cars give the same sort of profits that automakers have come to expect with ICE's. I think the biggest barrier to entry at this point is the price point, which the government has tried to alleviate with various tax incentives. Do we know what the common problems are with electrics at this point?

 

[Coops]

The shift to cheaper ownership/maintenance costs is vitally important to the Mini brand, as in recent years Mini's have proven themselves to be fairly unreliable vehicles. Obviously with the shift towards EV's, gone are the days of fixing your car in the garage, so even the most simple maintenance will require a visit to the shop.

 

[MiniFootPrint]

On that point I can see them getting into the car sharing space that brands like Cadillac will eventually be in. It helps even more that Mini is an affordable brand, meaning they will be on the entry-level end of the car sharing market, meaning... every potential customer out there that can afford the cheapest time slot.

 

[Coops]

Car subscription services will become a huge business in the coming years. Not only will it save consumers money, but it will allow them to drive vehicles that normally would have been unaffordable. Mini is going to have to take a serious look at programs such as this, as interest in brand within the U.S is at an all time low.