F56 MINI Cooper SE production Extended for North America

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The F56 MINI Cooper SE production ended last year with one important exception – those destined for North America. Why? Due to global politics the US and Canada won’t see the all new all new J01 MINI Cooper EV for quite some time. That has left MINI USA and MINI of Canada in a bind with only one solution – build more of the F56 Cooper SE.

MINI is solving this issue in two ways. For one they’re introducing the electric MINI Countryman to the North American market to help satisfy the EV need. Second MINI is extending production of the F56 MINI Cooper SE for an extra month. That means there should be a good supply for the first six months of 2024 at MINI dealers in the US and Canada. However that doesn’t mean the car will be around forever. Given the popularity of the model, we’d expect them to become relatively scarce by the 3rd quarter of the year. And once they’re gone there will not be another electric MINI Cooper in North American for quite some time.

The F56 MINI Cooper SE and the all new J01 MINI Cooper SE

Why Is The Electric MINI Cooper Leaving North America?

While Europe, the UK, Asia and South American will get the J01, MINI’s new electric Cooper won’t be available from MINI USA for years. While it’s not official, it’s all but certain that MINI USA won’t be importing the new J01 electric Cooper until it expands from its initial Chinese production to MINI’s Oxford Plant in the UK later this decade. That means we won’t see that car on US shores until likely 2027. So if you want a small electric MINI, there’s only one options for the next 3+ years. Suddenly a 3 year lease starts to make a lot of sense.

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