Mini is considering building electric cars in North America in the future to gain access to US subsidies. According to a media report, an electric crossover from Mini could go into production at BMW’s Mexican plant in San Luis Potosi in the second half of the decade.
Internal combustion sedans of the 2 and 3 series are currently produced there. BMW had announced in February that it would invest 800 million euros in its Mexican plant for the integration of the all-electric New Class models, but had not yet named any specific models. According to earlier rumours, it will be an electric sedan and an SUV in the 3 Series segment. According to information from Automotive News, Mini’s electric crossover could also use the new BMW platform.
The carmaker has not confirmed the information; a spokesperson declined to comment on the report. If this is indeed the case, it will probably be the first 800-volt model of the Mini brand – the New Class is known to be an 800-volt platform with large-volume round cells. However, it remains to be seen how large such a Mini crossover could be. According to earlier statements by BMW officials, the New Class should be suitable for vehicles from the 1 Series segment up to the 7 Series.
However, an electric compact SUV from Mini is already about to make its debut: the 4.43-metre-long Mini Countryman will be built in series in Leipzig with an electric drive from January 2024. Like the BMW iX1 (and iX2), however, this model is based on BMW’s UKL platform, which is designed as a mixed platform.
The production of a similarly sized or slightly larger model in North America could make sense, however, especially in view of the geopolitical situation. Because unlike an electric Countryman built in Leipzig, an electric crossover from Mexico would qualify for the full $7,500 EV tax credit in the US. Manufacturing in China – as with the electric Mini Cooper and the smaller Aceman crossover – is also unlikely to be attractive in the more price-sensitive volume segment due to US import duties of 27.5 per cent.
The portal InsideEVs cites another reason for producing an additional model in San Luis Potosi: BMW could use it to increase capacity utilisation at the Mexico plant, which only opened in 2019. According to figures from AutoForecast Solutions, the plant is only running at 32 per cent of its capacity with the current combustion models. This would not only leave room for electric BMW models based on the New Class, but also for a Mini.
autonews.com (paywall) via insideevs.com, jalopnik.com
Keyword: Mini rumoured to be considering building EVs in Mexico