Pure electric MINI, try again for the Chinese market？
It was officially launched in 1959 and discontinued in September 2000. It hated everything big, especially the MINI created by the designer of the big car, Aleclssigonis, which became a classic in the car industry.
The four wheels were moved as far as possible to the four corners of the body, and the MINI was also one of the first miniature cars to adopt the front-engine front-wheel drive mode that year. These designs were designed to reduce the length of the body and maximize the interior space, allowing 80% of the space to be used as driver seats and luggage.
From its prominence in 1960 to the last MINI Classic leaving the production line of the British Long Bridge in September 2000, there were 5.387 million MINIs that defined the era of small cars.
After BMW took over in 2001, the MINI was reborn. Although the first-generation MINI was beautiful, it was not close to the people.
But it is also the rather inexpensive price in China that has allowed MINI to embark on the path of a luxury brand.
2003 MINI ONE
In terms of products, the MINI still had many shortcomings at that time.
The first MINI in 2001 had a steering wheel so heavy that women refused, a turbo-sluggish engine, and a slow-shifting automatic transmission.
The second-generation MINI may be the best generation, but its suspension is still stiff and the comfort is too poor, especially those of the high-performance MINI Cooper S.
The current MINI has a much-debated look, and many people consider it less classic than the previous two generations.
Another controversial issue is that its mainstream powertrain is a 1.5T inline 3-cylinder turbocharged engine, which is inferior to the 4-cylinder in terms of NVH and high-speed fluidity.
But the MINI is still a MINI, and aside from the design that makes people fall in love at first sight, its handling and playfulness are difficult to replace – the wheels close to the four corners and the low center of gravity design give the basis of body movement, plus the front Macpherson, the rear multi-link suspension design, the MINI is as fun as a go-kart.
In the era of electrification, MINI will be phased out if it doesn’t change. At least in the Chinese market, it may be the case. You can’t rely on one emotion to sell at a high price.
The 2024 pure electric MINI Cooper E is the second rebirth of MINI.
New pure electric MINI Cooper E
At last year’s Munich Motor Show, the pure electric MINI Cooper E has been unveiled. Recently, the beam of light car jointly owned by BMW and Great Wall completed the MINI domestic electric version new car declaration at MIIT. In terms of appearance and data, there is almost no difference between the domestic version and the overseas version.
Recently, MINI officially released a batch of official pictures of the 2024 pure electric MINI Cooper E, which has now fully surfaced.
MINI emphasizes that the all-electric MINI Cooper is a combination of modern ecological driving and the brand’s typical driving pleasure. In particular, the steering is very direct, the increased wheelbase and wheelbase make the stability higher, and the brand’s classic karting driving feeling will not be lost.
But when it comes to driving pleasure, it is the most anticipated and the most skeptical.
The fuel-powered MINI has always been famous for its handling and fun, but will the increased weight after electrification and the driving feeling of electric vehicles make the pure electric MINI Cooper E lose its charm?
But at least, the design of the MINI Cooper E is still MINI.
The classic MINI round headlights and octagonal front grille form the MINI’s iconic front face, but the LED headlights and front face style are more concise and flat, in line with the design style of electric vehicles.
The body size is 3858x1756x1458mm, which is not much different from the fuel MINI, but the 2526mm wheelbase is significantly longer. The side of the body is still the classic MINI posture, with three-door shape and different colors of the suspended roof design.
Still available in yellow, blue, silver, glacier blue and other color schemes. The pure electric version of the door handle has become a semi-hidden design and offers a variety of new 16/17/18-inch wheels.
Like the new MINI fuel version, the MINI Cooper E also has four decorative options, and the classic design elements of the large round center display and dial switch are still retained. The difference is that this 240mm diameter display has become very slim.
In terms of power, the overseas version of the MINI Cooper E offers 135kW (184 horsepower) and a single motor output of 290Nm. Accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in 7.3 seconds.
The latest overseas version of MINI Cooper E, it is only equipped with a 40.7kWh battery pack, and the WLTP pure electric battery life is only 305 kilometers. With 75kW DC charging, the battery can be charged from 10% to 80% in 28 minutes.
Obviously, this is for short-distance driving in the city, and it is definitely not interesting enough in China.
However, from the domestic MIIT declaration, it can be seen that the domestic pure electric MINI will provide MINI Cooper E and MINI Cooper SE versions, the latter with an output power of 160kW/330Nm, and the motors are all from United Electronics.
At the same time, the battery comes from Honeycomb Energy, and the WLTP pure electric battery life of MINI Cooper SE reaches 402 kilometers. For MINI, which is mainly about fun and urban transportation, it is ok.
In fact, this is not the first time MINI has built an electric car. They released the MINI E as early as 2009.
2010 MINI E
However, as a BMW Project i R & D project, the MINI E produced only 500 vehicles, and its R & D and operation experience paved the way for the later BMW i pure electric brand.
Ten years later, in 2019, just as the last Volkswagen Beetle was discontinued, MINI released the first true production pure electric vehicle in the brand’s history, the MINI SE. It uses a 184-horsepower electric motor and has a range of 235 to 270 kilometers.
2020 MINI SE
At that time, the MINI SE used a 32.6kWh lithium-ion battery pack, which was divided into 12 modules. MINI designed them in a T-shaped layout and placed them deep in the floor of the car, between the front and rear seats. This way, the trunk space of the MINI SE will not be affected, and the center of gravity of the MINI SE will be reduced by 30mm compared with the fuel version of the MINI.
The MINI SE uses an electric motor with a maximum output of 135kW (184 horsepower), capable of delivering 270Nm of torque. This electric motor technology comes from BMW’s electric vehicle development department, and BMW is very leading in electric motor technology.
However, in terms of top speed, the MINI SE is only 150 kilometers per hour, so if you drive it on Germany’s unlimited-speed highways, you will definitely be overtaken by old German ladies driving the old Volkswagen Polo.
No matter what, the previous MINI’s electrification attempts were not successful. The reason must be multi-faceted. The key to the technical problems of electric vehicles back then was that the previous pure electric MINI was produced in a factory in Oxford, England, and the cost could not be reduced.
The new generation of pure electric MINI Cooper E
But the new generation of pure electric MINI Cooper E integrates the industrial chain advantages of China’s electric vehicles, which is more reassuring in terms of cost and quality. If the price is right, the pure electric MINI Cooper E has a great opportunity to take off.
If possible, it will be MINI’s second rebirth from the ashes.