LEIPZIG: The new MINI Countryman is set to start production at BMW's plant here by the end of this year, and will be offered with both pure electric drive and combustion engines.
This will be the first time that a MINI model is produced entirely in Germany.
Thanks to space-saving components such as the particularly flat high-voltage battery, the new Countryman will offer additional space and even greater comfort in the future.
Petra Peterhaensel as plant director and Sonja Hengstler as project manager for the new Countryman are responsible in Leipzig for the transformation towards more electromobility and sustainable production of the E-components as well as the entire vehicles.
A core workforce of 5,600 employees produces around 1,000 vehicles every day.
The new Countryman comes off the production line in Leipzig together with the BMW 1 Series, 2 Series Gran Coupé and 2 Series Active Tourer. This makes the location the first plant at which vehicles of the BMW and MINI brands are made together.
Today, one in five MINI models is already electrified. The high-voltage batteries for the all-electric Countryman would come from the plant's own production facilities.
To this end, the BMW Group is expanding its capacities for e-component production at the Leipzig site by eight production lines by 2024 and investing more than 800 million euros.
"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 plant's sustainable energy supply," said MINI chief says Stefanie Wurst.
"In this way, the new all-electric Countryman demonstrates what the brand stands for: electrified go-kart feeling and a strong focus on a minimal environmental footprint."
