Whatever competition there was, the winner already walked away with the trophy
The 'thingy' is a beauty, albeit the EU is considering sanctioning the China-made vehicle :0) Yeah, it is true, and therefore very extremely hilarious.
Am wondering why Liz Truss did not get a position at the EU; lots of cabbages inside of that bureaucracy, from top to bottom, totally fused-in.
bloomberg.com
BMW Gets Help From China for First Electric Mini Cooper Platform
China’s Great Wall Motor producing Minis for import to Europe
New model will charge faster and have 30% better range
BMW’s new Mini Cooper EVSource: BMW AG
By Wilfried Eckl-Dorna
1 September 2023 at 17:00 GMT+8
BMW AG is unveiling a fully electric platform for its Mini brand as the automaker looks to leverage its popular three-door hatchback to compete with a range of smaller Chinese battery-powered vehicles pushing into Europe.
The new generation of the Mini Cooper EV will be on display at next week’s IAA car show in Munich, after BMW’s partner Great Wall Motor Co. helped develop the new all-electric underpinnings and will produce the car in China for import to Europe.
With cost pressures eating into margins for smaller EVs, European carmakers including BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen, are handing over development and production to Chinese joint-venture partners. Mini still strongly identifies as a British brand and has vowed to keep its roots in the UK, where the government and BMW have been in talks over a potential deal to support investment in the company’s Oxford plant.
BMW’s new Mini Cooper EV.Source: BMW AGMini is also overhauling other models. The Countryman sport utility vehicle, now based on a BMW platform, will be manufactured in Leipzig, Germany. In 2024, Mini will also introduce a five-door crossover called Aceman to replace current hatchback and station-wagon variants. While Great Wall will manufacture the electric Cooper and Aceman models in China, Mini’s UK plant in Oxford will produce the combustion-engine versions of both models.
BMW, which is seeking government incentives to increase investment in the Oxford plant, and UK officials have yet to announce a deal. Securing an agreement would be a significant marker for the UK, which is struggling to compete with US and Europe for green-tech investments. |
