Part 3: Did MINI Go Electric Too Soon or Not Soon Enough?

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In Part 1 we talked about why MINI decided to go all electric by 2030 and how they planned to do it. Part 2 showed how MINI was caught out thanks to global politics and changing consumer buying patterns. In Part 3 we’re finally answering the question – did MINI go electric too soon. But to do that, we have to go back in time and look at what might have been,

Fifteen years ago MINI debuted its first electric car – the MINI E. Created as a rolling test bed for BMW, the MINI E was a riot to drive and quickly earned a loyal fanbase of early adopters. But with only 100 miles of range and a $850 lease price, had limited appeal. Worse yet, it turned out MINI had no follow-up sequel.

Yet the program was a huge success. In the U.S. 9,500 people signed up to lease the 450 MINI Es available. For $850 MINI offered you a MINI E including collision coverage, maintenance costs, and even home installation of the charging station. But this was more than just a car for MINI and BMW. It was a beta program created so MINI (and BMW) could learn how to design and sell EVs.

The original R56 based MINI E

And they got lots of data. So much so that MINI and BMW became industry leaders understanding EV customers and what product revisions would be required to move into mass market adoption. The MINI E wasn’t intended to be a commercial success. It was all about MINI putting their toe in the water and gaining insight before diving in headfirst.

As an EV pioneer the future looked bright for MINI. Then something surprising happened. Absolutely nothing.

MINI passed the torch to BMW for its similar Active E program and turned its focus back to launching the F56 generation of combustion models. This was made all the more peculiar as BMW was prepping launch of its revolutionary carbon fiber BMW i3, a brilliant and funky city car that felt more aligned with the MINI ethos than BMW. It had a footprint of the F55/F65 five door Cooper with the interior space nearly equal to a BMW 3 Series of the time. From its turning radius to its inventive two rear-hinged doors, it was felt like the future then as much as it does now. But best of all it was designed from the ground up as an electric car that could accommodate an optional range extender. A concept we’re only now starting to see elsewhere in 2024.

The BMW i3 and it’s surprising interior space

It may not have had the range (later versions topped with 156 miles EPA) but it had everything else you could imagine. Carbon fiber chassis made in a plant powered by hydro-electricity? Check. Wood trim grown from a sustainable German forest? Check. Plastic and textile interior made from recycled plastic bottles? Check and check.

The i3 was a rear wheel drive car with a wide track and surprisingly interactive steering and chassis. In many ways it felt like a production version of the MINI E. Which is exactly what some at MINI thought as well.

The BMW i3 almost became a MINI

The BMW I3 – The MINI That Almost Was

From the very beginning there were those at BMW that felt the i3 was better suited as a MINI. For all the reasons above it felt more aligned with the younger urban brand than BMW, the larger luxury brand with a history of making sports sedans and coupes.

It was also an odd car for BMW as there were no other variants. This was especially true given the expensive nature of engineering the i3 and its revolutionary production process and even parts sourcing. Wouldn’t it just make sense to defray these costs across two distinctly different but similar products? That’s exactly what was asked internally and MINI design got busy creating a based on the BMW i3 to test the idea.

According to our sources, by the time a i3 based MINI concept was finally presented, the BMW board felt it was too much cost for a platform that it had already decided had no future. Instead they eventually approved the concept of a F60 Countryman plugin hybrid and an all electric F56 (leveraging components of the i3). Our sources are unclear if i3 based MINI concept was a true prototype or just existed in rendering form. Either way there’s little chance it will ever see the light of day.

Sales ultimately doomed the i3

Despite all the engineering and thoughtful design, the BMW i3 was a sales failure. Over its 9 year life cycle it sold only 250,000 units. Limited range was certainly a part of it. But you can’t look past the i3’s funky design and seemingly small size as part of the problem as well. For the typical BMW buyer who was and still is increasingly buying large crossovers, the i3 felt like an odd choice for the brand.

But at MINI where funky design and small size are hallmarks of the brand, things were going differently. During three same time the F56 MINI Cooper sold well over 1,000,000 units.

What if the i3’s bespoke platform was engineered from the start to also form the basis of a successor to the 2010 electric MINI E? Had they altered the design and lowered its height and belt-line while altering the angle of the windshield. With subtly different proportions you can easily imagine a MINI version that would have slotted perfectly into the line-up. And just like that MINI would have had a bespoke platform EV with optional range extender as early 2013.

The new, all electric MINI line-up

That’s not to say it would have been a huge sales success. But it would have leveraged an existing platform and set the brand on a course to electrification. And above all else it would have marked MINI out as a progressive, engineering driven company that was more than just great design with a nod to the past.

Sound familiar? That’s exactly what MINI is trying to do now. Go back and read Part 1 in this series and you’ll see how MINI’s new products are carrying on some of the concepts we saw in the i3. While they’re not as radical, they come from the same engineering groups and even some of the same people are involved.

The 2018 F56 MINI Cooper SE and the 2010 R56 MINI E.

Did MINI Go Electric Too Soon or Not Soon Enough?

No, we don’t think MINI’s plans to go electric by 2030 is too soon. If anything we believe MINI should have expanded in that direction earlier. Before we get flamed, we’re not saying MINI should have ditched internal combustion earlier than 2030 (heck we’re not even sure if 2030 makes sense). Nor are we implying the current line-up should be much different (except for the Clubman of course). And yes we miss the manual too.

What we think MINI missed was a missing link. MINI could have succeeded the original MINI E with an innovative carbon fiber based EV based on the i3. Electrification and innovation could have become synonymous with the brand creating an important first-mover advantage.

Electrification fits MINI well. It embodies the original spirit of the brand in terms of efficiency and the same point and shoot performance that embodies the classic Mini. What would have happened had the BMW i3 been designed to accommodate a MINI derivative designed and engineered to look and feel like a MINI? We’ll never know. But we can be sure it would have been fun to drive.

MINI’s Electrification Plans

The entire MINI line-up will be 100% EVs by the early 2030s. That’s the official line from MINI and while that might slip a a bit, it’s inevitable. So with that, here’s MINI plan (as it stands now) to phase out its last.

The last combustion MINI Cooper is currently scheduled to roll off the assembly line in Oxford on December 31st 2030. This is the current plan that MINI has defined internally and for its large Tier 1 suppliers. So while that date may seem arbitrary, you can bet a lot of planning has already taken place to define that date.

But there is one more petrol powered MINI – the brand’s largest. The German made U25 MINI Countryman will also end production on 12.31.30.

If that holds true MINI’s switch to electric will be a rather dramatic happening simultaneously in two different countries. And it will mark a new chapter in the brands history that began over 20 years earlier with a rolling test bed called the MINI E.

The post Part 3: Did MINI Go Electric Too Soon or Not Soon Enough? appeared first on MotoringFile.

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