All-electric MINI Countryman ready for production

MINI has given the world an official preview of its third-generation MINI Countryman, which will be the first MINI produced in Germany and the first Countryman available with an all-electric powertrain.

When the new 2024 MINI Countryman enters production in late 2023, it will be made exclusively at the same Leipzig production plant as the latest BMW 1 Series, BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe and BMW 2 Series Active Tourer (which isn’t offered in Australia).

All of these compact BMW and MINI models are based on the same front-biased UKL2 platform architecture that resides under the current MkII (F60-series) Countryman launched in 2017, as well as the newly released third-generation (U11) BMW X1.

Unsurprisingly, MINI is looking forward to launching its third Countryman model since the R60 original of 2010, but executives of BMW’s small-car brand are extra excited given the high-riding EV will be produced in the German car-maker’s pilot ‘green plant’.

“We are delighted to be able to hand over the first MINI ‘Made in Germany’ to our customers in a CO2-neutral manner thanks to the [Leipzig] plant’s sustainable energy supply,” said MINI boss Stefanie Wurst.

“In this way, the new all-electric MINI Countryman demonstrates what the brand stands for: electrified go-kart feeling and a strong focus on a minimal environmental footprint.”

There’s very little go-kart resemblance in the new Countryman’s design, given it’s the biggest MINI product to date and said to be 200mm longer than its predecessor.

We’ve already seen that swollen body and less than subtle yellow camouflage, courtesy of our European spy photographers late last year.

No details have been revealed about the new Countryman’s combustion or battery-electric powertrains, but the general consensus is that the former will share most of the 2023 BMW X1’s mechanicals and the latter will borrow its EV hardware from the BMW iX1.

So expect the MINI Countryman SE (as we expect it to be officially called in markets outside the UK – where the ‘Electric’ badge is used – in line with the existing MINI Cooper and Convertible SE) to deliver close to 230kW/494Nm in dual-motor guise and retail from somewhere around the $80,000 mark.

Odds are that calmer and cheaper single-motor versions of the first Countryman EV will also be offered, along with a piping-hot replacement for the all-wheel drive Countryman JCW, which is currently available in three trims priced from $63,850.

Positioned below all those Countryman variants will likely be X1-sourced 1.5- and 2.0-litre turbo-petrol engines driving the front wheels, to replace the existing model’s line-up of standard (priced from $45,000 plus ORCs), S and SE hybrid variants.

MINI said the new Countryman EV would lead the hitherto British-produced vehicle family into a new era of emissions-free electromobility on its way to becoming an all-EV brand by the end of this decade.

“The transformation to an all-electric brand by 2030 begins with this model generation,” they said.

“Thanks to space-saving components such as the particularly flat high-voltage battery, which is also produced at the BMW Group Plant Leipzig, the MINI Countryman will offer additional space and even greater comfort in the future.”

MINI Australia is yet to confirm when the new Countryman will arrive in Aussie showrooms, but traditional BMW Group model release timing would suggest a mid-2024 local launch.

On a similar timeline is the all-new MINI Aceman, a smaller all-electric five-door SUV to replace both the five-door MINI hatch and Clubman wagon, which is due to be revealed this year before its global release in 2024.

For everything you auto know about EVs, listen to carsales' Watts Under the Bonnet: the electric car podcast

Join the conversation at 

our Facebook page

Or email us at 

editor@carsales.com.au