Mini Electric unveiled in Oxford

Mini has unveiled the new Mini Electric at the Oxford plant, the home of the brand where the very first Mini was built 60 years ago.

With manufacturing set to begin in late 2019, with first deliveries in the spring of 2020, the new pure-electric hatchback will have the performance of a Cooper S, with zero-tailpipe emissions, and a range of up to 144 miles (WLTP) on a single charge.

Priced to be widely affordable, many customers are expected to lease the new car and rates will start below £300 per month. The on-the-road list price is from £24,400 after the government’s Plug-In Car Grant has been applied.

Research published by What Car? magazine and supported by MINI showed that more than 1.5 million UK households which are perfectly suited to running an electric car, are not yet doing so. BMW believes that the new Mini Electric could be ‘a tipping point’ for those who have been thinking about choosing an EV, but are yet to do so.

David George, director of MINI in the UK said, “Now our customers can have everything they love about MINI, but with all the advantages of an electric car – lower environmental impact and running costs and they never have to visit a petrol station again.

“We believe the new MINI Electric could be a tipping point for those who have been thinking about choosing an electric car, to take that step now. We aim to introduce a whole new group of drivers in the UK to the fun and cost savings of electric driving, in a way only MINI can”.

Oliver Zipse said: “We are entering an era in which electric cars will become a normal choice for our customers. The MINI Electric will kick off our new model offensive for fully electric vehicles. By 2023, two years ahead of schedule, we will have 25 electrified models on the market. More than half of them will be fully electric.”