First plug-in MINI here within 12 months

MINI Australia will release its first electrified model – unfortunately dubbed the MINI Cooper S E Countryman ALL4 plug-in hybrid – in the second quarter of next year.

The news was confirmed by BMW Group Australia chief Marc Werner at last week’s local launch of the facelifted MINI hatch and convertible.

“We have been looking at the MINI plug-in hybrid now for some time, and the feedback that we have from our dealers and our customers is really positive,” he said.

“And of course you know that, as part of the BMW Group, we are committed to broadening our range of low-emissions vehicles, so it makes sense for us to bring the vehicle here, and give our customers the opportunity to choose a more environmentally friendly vehicle.

“As for timing or final details, we’re not quite there yet. But we can say that we are keen to bring the vehicle in and we will see it here in the first half of 2019.”

Werner wouldn’t be drawn on pricing or sales expectations, but confirmed the first MINI PHEV wouldn’t come at the expense of diesel power in the Countryman.

MINI Australia has dropped its diesel engine options from the updated 2018 MINI Cooper 3-Door and 5-Door Hatch range “to reduce model complexity and meet customer demand”.

However, we expect the MINI Countryman PHEV to be priced and specified in line with the all-wheel drive MINI Cooper Countryman SD ALL4 diesel ($53,900 plus ORCs), so it will be interesting to see how customers vote with their wallets.

Werner said the MINI PHEV, two examples of which have been testing in Australia for the last 12 months, will be released here in response to consumer demand, but it won’t be priced higher than the Countryman JCW ($59,900 plus ORCs).

“MINI customers are different and this technology definitely suits their appetite, but the flagship MINI will always be JCW,” he said.

“The PHEV has to be competitively priced, but JCW will remain the spearhead and will remain at the pinnacle price position.”

Spurred by stronger sales to family buyers, the five-door hatch outsold the three-door to be MINI’s best-seller in Australia last year (1138 sales to 997), with the Countryman a distant third with 795 sales.

But to May this year the Countryman had overtaken the three-door and was just 18 sales short of eclipsing the 5-Door to become the most popular MINI.

Following BMW’s lead of adding plug-in hybrid power to its existing models should increase MINI’s local sales, which are up almost 13 per cent to 2184 in the first half of 2018.

MINI Australia’s 2017 sales were steady at 3712, but Werner – who is now also the MINI chief for Asia, Africa, Middle East, Russia and the Caribbean – said MINI was Australia’s fastest growing premium brand.

He said the local market share of the MINI and JCW brands was among the strongest in the world at a respective seven and 15 per cent, thanks in part to MINI’s growing retail network.

“Five years ago we struggled to sell 2000 MINIs,” he said. “Last year we sold almost 4000 and MINI is now the fastest growing premium brand.”

MINI has increased its Sydney footprint with a $60 million rebuild of its Rushcutters Bay outlet, which Werner says is now a benchmark standalone MINI dealership.

In addition, he said a new MINI dealer in Canterbury (NSW), a new MINI Garage in Essendon (Vic) and a refurbished MINI Garage at Kings Way (South Melbourne) were “extremely important because we’re selling a lot of cars to Asian and affluent customers".

Based on the second-generation Countryman -- which was released here last year and rides on a larger platform than other MINIs -- the PHEV has been available in Europe since June 2017, meaning it will be almost two years old by the time it arrives Down Under.

Expect facelifted versions of the mechanically similar MINI Countryman SUV and Clubman wagon – in line with the 2018 MINI hatches and cabrio, our first local review of which is embargoed until this Friday – to follow next year’s release of the Countryman PHEV.

The plug-in Countryman is powered by a 1.5-litre three-cylinder turbo-petrol engine matched with a synchronous electric motor with power outputs of 100kW and 65kW respectively.

The petrol engine drives the front wheels via a modified six-speed Steptronic automatic transmission, while the electric motor drives the rear axle via a two-stage single-speed transmission.

Total system outputs are rated at 165kW and a muscular 385Nm or torque, making it almost as powerful as MINI’s flagship JCW models and even torquier (170kW/350Nm), although peak torque is less than the Countryman SD’s 2.0-litre diesel (140kW/400Nm).

No performance figures are quoted, but combined –cycle fuel consumption is listed at just 2.1L/100km, thanks to an all-electric driving range of up to 42km at speeds of up to 125km/h, easily making it the most efficient MINI.

A 7.5kWh-capacity lithium-ion battery pack under the rear seat can be fully charged in a claimed 2.5 hours using a 3.6kW wallbox charger, with a domestic power outlet taking 3.25 hours.

MINI’s three-mode hybrid drive system includes Auto eDrive, which allows for pure-electric driving at speeds up to 80km/h. The petrol engine only engages at higher speeds, during hard acceleration or when battery charge falls below seven per cent.

Max eDrive employs electric power at up to 125km/h or during kickdown for overtaking or hard acceleration, while Save Battery mode uses mainly petrol power to keep the battery charge level above 90 per cent.

MINI Australia says it is also evaluating the all-electric version of the Cooper hatch, which is called the MINI E and will enter production in 2019.

“There will be a battery-electric version as well -- it’s not confirmed for Australia yet but the future for MINI is electric,” said Werner.

The regional MINI boss also couldn’t hide his enthusiasm for the MINI JCW GP Concept, which was revealed at the 2017 Frankfurt motor show and points to a hard-core GP version of the third-generation MINI Cooper.

“There’s no confirmation yet but the design is stunning and we’re working very hard,” said Werner.

“We saw MINI GP one and two, so I can’t wait for number three. If the car becomes available and in right-hand drive, we’ll certainly fight for an allocation.”