Mini to launch new fully electric model by 2019

BMW is currently working on electrifying all its model series. Over the next few years, the brand will launch a full-electric or plug-in hybrid drivetrain in addition to the combustion engine option. Additional electrified models will be brought to market and beyond 2020; the company’s next-gen vehicle architecture will be structured in order to enable new models also to be offered as a full-electric vehicle.

As part of this new strategy, BMW has just announced the new battery-electric Mini which will be a variant of the brand's core 3-door hatch version. This fully electric car will go into production in 2019 at the BMW Group’s e-mobility centre at Dingolfing and Landshut facilities in Bavaria before being integrated into the car at Oxford plant which is the main production location for the 3-door hatch.

By 2025, BMW expects electrified vehicles to account for between 15-25 per cent of sales. However, factors such as regulation, incentives and charging infrastructure will play a major role in determining the scale of electrification from market to market. BMW is also working on enabling its production facilities to build models with a combustion engine, plug-in hybrid or fully electric drive train at the same time.