Australia's first electrified MINI still two years away

MINI Australia will take delivery of two Countryman PHEVs for local testing purposes by the end of next month, as part of establishing a business case for its first electrified model.

However, the plug-in hybrid MINI SUV, which is now on sale in Europe remains up to two years away from Australian showrooms, and the brand’s recently announced all-electric MINI Cooper E is even further away.

In the meantime, MINI Australia will continue to consolidate its five-model line-up with the addition of high-performance models including the new Countryman JCW due around mid-2017.

That’s the clear message MINI’s global executive team including senior vice-president Sebastian Mackensen, who defended the shrinking of MINI’s seven-model range to just five with the axing of the coupe and roadster.

Just five models
“We were basically selling seven models – if I exaggerate a little bit -- to the same consumer,” Mackensen told a small group of automotive journalists in Melbourne yesterday.

“So we were competing… more with our own [products] than with the external competition — similar size, similar price range, similar driving opportunity.

“Having expanded those two cars, Countryman and Clubman, to distance themselves from the other three cars in body size and length and overall package, now we have five cars in two different segments of the markets and competing much more with external competition than with the MINI brand inside.”

Asked specifically whether a new-generation MINI coupe or roadster would be reconsidered, the MINI boss said: “… If you specifically ask me [are there] any plans to do coupe and roadster again I would say no, but that doesn’t mean we have to stand still for the next 10 years.”

For now, however, that’s exactly where the MINI product range is at -- a standstill.

Countryman to plug in
MINI Australia general manager Tony Sesto said the Countryman PHEV, which offers a pure-electric driving range of 40km, will be here no sooner than late 2018 or early 2019.

And the pure-electric MINI Cooper E, which has been confirmed for European release by 2019, appears unlikely to be available before 2020 in Australia, which ranks about 15th in terms of global MINI sales by nation.

“We actually have two of the PHEVs arriving within the next one to one and a half months in our market and we’re very excited to be bringing those cars in,” he said.

“This is the start of the evaluation process for us. So we definitely see ourselves going down the path of the PHEV and eventually the [pure] electric.

“Timing is what we need to work out. The business case is what we need to work out. So I think it’s probably not a question of ‘if’ but ‘when’,” said Sesto.

MINI E further away
While initial reaction to the Countryman PHEV has been strong, MINI concedes that the Australian market is expected to be slower to embrace it than other parts of the world.

Executives from BMW’s small-car brand admit the local market will struggle to meet their EV target of 15 to 25 per cent of global sales by 2025, citing the federal government’s (lack of) support as a contributing factor.

On the subject of diesel, MINI’s Asia Pacific and South Africa chief Henrik Wilhelmsmeyer said that as long as there is buyer demand, there will be diesel MINIs.

JCW to expand
The senior MINI executives confirmed Australia’s hunger for performance vehicles is reflected by strong JCW sales, which currently account for around 10 per cent of MINI sales locally.

That’s a number Sesto believes MINI can build on by year’s end, with the imminent arrival of the Countryman JCW.

Pressed on the prospects of a Countryman PHEV JCW, Mackensen said “Who knows!” -- which we’ll take as a yes – and nor did he rule out the likelihood of a self-driving MINI in the future.

“I think there’s a very good stretch of time you will be sitting behind the wheel... and using it.” He said.

So it seems 2019 will mark the beginning of a technology rollout for MINI that will include plug-in hybrid, all-electric and even autonomous drive systems.

Until then, it’s business as usual for the British car-maker.