Statements Press Conference World Premiere of the new MINI ELECTRIC

Pieter Nota,  Member of the Board of Management of BMW AG  Customer, Brands, Sales

Welcome everyone!

It’s great that you could join us on this very exciting day:

The world premiere of our new MINI Electric!

We chose Rotterdam to showcase the new MINI Electric because quite simply, this city embodies what MINI is all about: Urban, edgy and forward-looking. It’s also a place that embraces electro-mobility, having already implemented a comprehensive charging network. In a nutshell, it’s a city that points to the future. This is also our approach at the BMW Group.

The MINI Electric is another milestone in our BMW Group electrification strategy. Of course, it’s also a milestone for Plant Oxford, the Home of MINI.

Very early on, the BMW Group recognized the importance of sustainable mobility and was a pioneer with the BMW i3 in 2013. Since then, we have been consistently expanding our offer. Our approach is to focus on both fully electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles to suit various customer needs.

Today, the BMW Group offers the broadest range of electrified vehicles: From our 2 Series all the way up to our 7 Series. We have the right model with the preferred drive train - for every customer in every segment – in every region of the world. That is what I call true customer centricity!

Plug-in hybrids – as well as fully electric vehicles - can deliver a very real and positive contribution to lowering emissions. They provide a way to quickly improve air quality in urban areas.

Last year we cooperated with the city of Rotterdam on the “Electric City Drive”. We created an app to remind plug-in hybrid drivers to switch to all-electric mode when in the city zone. The result: Nearly all of the kilometres driven within the city zone - were fully electric. Now we are planning to make this intelligent software a standard feature in our plug-in hybrid vehicles, starting 2020.

At the BMW Group our goal is clear: To be the driver of premium electric mobility. Our strategy is proving successful: Last year in Europe, we sold more electrified vehicles than anyone else. At the end of 2019, we will have over half a million electrified vehicles on the road. And we continue to step up the pace: Already in 2023, we will offer 25 electrified vehicles – two years earlier than originally planned. More than half will be fully electric. Next year customers can look forward to the BMW iX3. And 2021 will be a truly phenomenal year for the BMW Group with the launch of the BMW i4 and our new technology flagship, the iNEXT.

For us it is clear: Emission free mobility is crucial for a sustainable future.

At the BMW Group, we are taking responsibility for next generations. We are investing in future technologies that will help solve significant challenges in society. We want to be part of the solution.

MINI has always been about solutions – MINI was created to provide an answer to the mobility challenges of its time.  Once again, it is delivering timely and innovative solutions. MINI and electro-mobility go together like hand in glove – as the success of the MINI Countryman Plug-In Hybrid has shown.

Our new MINI Electric demonstrates how emotional and how much fun e-mobility can be. True to the MINI brand, it is the perfect car for urban areas.

The fantastic customer response shows that many people have been waiting for this great new car!

We are thrilled to already have over 40,000 customers who have registered their interest in the MINI Electric. So, you’d better be quick if you want one!

Ladies and Gentlemen,

All of this shows: At sixty years old, MINI is as innovative and up-to-date as ever – ready to drive into an exciting and emission-free future!

And now, the moment has arrived: Please welcome the new MINI Electric!

Bernd Koerber,  Senior Vice President MINI

MINI was founded on the idea to deliver a solution to the mobility challenges of its time. We are committed to this idea and to ensure sustainable urban mobility for the future.

Dear Ladies and Gentlemen, I have the great pleasure to introduce you to the first all-electric production model MINI, the MINI Cooper SE, or as we briefly call it the MINI ELECTRIC.

Unmistakably a MINI - a premium small car that embodies all MINI attributes, and transmits them to the segment of EV’s. In other words, we have electrified MINI, now we will MINIfy electro mobility.

A new chapter in the history of MINI begins today. I am very excited to share this moment for the future of the brand with you. The last 60 years, MINI has shaped individual mobility in the urban environment. With unconventional and pioneering concepts that we owe to the nonconformists and lateral thinkers in our design and development departments, and who make driving in a MINI an emotional experience.

Alec Issigonis, the designer of the classic Mini didn’t subscribe to conventions. He challenged the status quo and arranged the engine transversely under the bonnet of the Mini. The result was like a revolution for the entire industry - small cars were soon developed almost exclusively according to this pattern. Despite its minimal external dimensions, the classic Mini surprised with plenty of space. Thanks to its “Wheel at each corner” architecture offered unsurpassed agile handling the MINI typical go-kart feeling. Alec would certainly have been a pioneer of electro mobility, and so we continued this core idea of MINI.

It is this Go-Kart feeling, the sense of individuality and unconventional concepts that have kept MINI in the spirit of the times. It is not surprising that MINI pioneered the way to electric mobility more than ten years ago. In 2008, the MINI E was the first BMW Group electric vehicle to be produced in a small series. It gathered important insights - insights that influenced the development of the BMW i3. MINI drivers who participated in the field tests with the MINI E at that time still praise the inspiring driving characteristics.

With the MINI Countryman Plug-In Hybrid electric driving was brought to the brand in 2017. The new MINI Electric is both, the leap into the future of MINI and also into the future of electric mobility. From now on, electro mobility is synonymous with MINI's typical go-kart feeling in individual style.

The MINI ELECTRIC is based on the conventionally powered MINI 3-door. It keeps exactly the same boot capacity because its high-voltage battery is cleverly housed in the vehicle floor. This is creative use of space in its most modern form. The battery allows for a range of 235 kilometers. The new MINI Electric comes standard with a fast charging DC feature which allows the battery to be recharged in only 35 minutes time.

With 184 hp and the spontaneous power development that is typical for electric motors, the MINI ELECTRIC keeps some sports cars at a distance at the traffic lights accelerating in a mere 3.9 seconds from zero to 60 km / h. Perfect traction and driving stability are guaranteed by the innovative wheel slip limitation, which was developed especially for electric vehicles.

Standard features of the MINI ELECTRIC include LED headlamps, a 2-zone climate control system, heating with heat pump technology, stationary air conditioning and auxiliary heating, as well as a navigation system that displays - among other things - the range in the form of an operating radius and charging stations in the area.

For us, the MINI ELECTRIC is not just a car, but the beginning of an all-in-one solution for urban mobility that we have dedicated ourselves to. The MINI ELECTRIC has all the latest MINI Connected services plus pioneering features such as a sharing function. The owner can share the use of his MINI via MINI Connected with family members, friends or other people by means of a smartphone which allows him or her to unlock and start the car. Until the launch, we will be able to offer further innovative services and features in an electric ecosystem.

So…when does the MINI Electric hit the road? We have been accepting orders from all over the world for a few weeks now, and we are doing our utmost to ensure that our customers do not need to wait too long. We have decided against one single launch date for all markets. Production of the MINI Electric starts in Oxford in November 2019. The first vehicles will then be delivered as early as possible, because one thing is clear: it is about time for electro-mobility in MINI style, don’t you think?

Thank you.