Mini has given us a glimpse of an upcoming concept car previewing its first dedicated battery-electric vehicle. The sole photo shows part of the front fender and the signature rounded headlights on all Mini models. There’s also black body cladding, suggesting this is a crossover of some type. The shadow in the background hints at that because of the roof rack and the upright greenhouse with massive glass areas.
Along with giving us a glimpse of its upcoming concept car, Mini also revealed this vehicle will showcase its new design language called Charismatic Simplicity. It notes that this will give each model a strong, unique character and focus on clean looks and an emphasis on sustainability. Future vehicles, according to Mini, will blend a modern exterior with an interior that focuses only on the essentials as a nod to its past vehicles. The use of purely electric powertrains also gives the brand a way to rethink its approach to design.
The cabins of future Mini models will take cues from the Vision Urbanaut concept. That means it’ll have a minimalistic design with most functions housed on a single display. In this case, everything will be centered around the circular display mounted on the dashboard with a new interface design. Mini will retain its analog controls including toggle switches to keep things distinctive without losing usability.
Mini teases crossover concept previewing new design language
Future Mini models will offer purely electric variants with the Hardtop being offered exclusively as a BEV and geared toward driving fun. The British brand also confirmed that Countryman will also get a purely electric variant. The concept car being teased here previews a third production model that will be the first dedicated BEV wearing a Mini badge. A new vehicle platform will be used on these vehicles and it has been developed with electrification from the start. Mini seems to suggest this is a dedicated BEV architecture but we suspect that will only be the case for the Hardtop, which is being developed as a collaboration between BMW Group and Great Wall Motors. The Countryman and the dedicated electric crossover will likely be on the FAAR architecture, which is also used by the new BMW iX1 and 2 Series Active Tourer.
Mini will introduce the fully electric concept car at the end of July and it will also showcase the other ways the brand aims to distinguish itself in the electric future. In total, four vehicles will get design influences from the show car. The first will be the Mini Hardtop, which will be available in purely internal combustion or as a BEV. It will be unique because the two variants will be on different platforms. The Countryman should remain the volume product for the Mini brand and will be available with two electrified variants, the fully electric version and a plug-in hybrid.
Mini’s final two models will round out the model lineup with the first being its first dedicated BEV crossover based on this concept. It will reportedly revive the Paceman nameplate and slot below the Countryman in terms of size, putting it squarely against upcoming models like the Kia EV4, the production version of Nissan’s Chill-Out Concept, and Jeep’s first BEV. The final model arrives in 2025 and it will be the next-generation convertible, which will be the second dedicated all-electric vehicle in the lineup.
