Great Wall Motor Co Ltd, in partnership with BMW, will produce electric MINI vehicles at its Leipzig plant.
BMW car will cease production of its MINI electric cars in the United Kingdom and will shift production to China. BMW is planning to move production to a joint venture there. As reported by the Times, BMW produces around 40,000 electric MINI vehicles a year at its plant outside Oxford. The premium automaker will halt production later this year.
BMW Director MINI Stefanie Wurst shared that the company’s Oxford plant is inefficient because it produces electric and gasoline cars on the same line. Wurst added that the factory needs renovation and investment to build electric vehicles because the old assembly lines have been scrapped. However, she shared that a date has not been decided on when the brand will return to the UK.
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The report says BMW will continue to assemble MINIs with internal combustion engines in the UK in the 2030s for export to the US, Japan and the Middle East, while electric MINIs will be manufactured by its joint partner. of the luxury carmaker Great Wall Motor Co Ltd. and at its factory in Leipzig.
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Meanwhile, BMW focused on electrification plans is planning to diversify its portfolio. The Bavarian carmaker has set a goal of bringing entry-level electric vehicles to the i1 and i2 by 2028. After acknowledging the success of the i3 electric compact hatchback, the automaker wants to reclaim that segment along with it. with leading positions with a wide range of electric vehicles. services it intends to introduce in the coming years. It is known that the BMW i1 and BMW i2 will not have rear-wheel drive like the BMW i3. These EVs will be based on the automaker’s upcoming Neue Klasse architecture.
First published date: October 16, 2022, 16:55 PM IST
