BMW to produce with Chinese partner Great Wall 1st green car Mini
BMW AG، the German multinational manufacturer of luxury vehicles and motorcycles headquartered in Munich، Bavaria، Germany plans to produce green car models with Chinese partner Great Wall Motor Co. by developing 1st green Mini Cooper، the new all-electric vehicles as the automaker looks to leverage its popular three-door hatchback to compete with a range of smaller Chinese battery-powered vehicles and will launch the car in China for import to Europe as the new model will charge faster and have 30% better range.
BMW green car Mini Cooper to compete with smaller Chinese EVs
BMW AG Chief Executive Officer Oliver Zipse stated that the cooperation with Chinese partner Great Wall Motor Co. is unveiling a fully electric platform for its Mini brand including 1st green car Mini Cooper as the automaker looks to leverage its popular three-door hatchback to compete with a range of smaller Chinese battery-powered vehicles pushing into Europe.
Oliver Zipse، BMW's Chief Executive Officer has presented the first prototype of its future green car line-up، ringing in a new stage in the fight to catch up to Tesla and defend sales of electric vehicle in its most important market، China، the world's car market.
Mini Cooper green car models will be on display at next week’s IAA car show
He announced that the new generation of the Mini Cooper green car models will be on display at next week’s IAA car show in Munich، after BMW’s partner Great Wall Motor Co. helped develop the new all-electric vehicle and will produce the car in China for import to Europe.
Chairman of the Board of Management of BMW AG، Oliver Zipse، affirmed that all of BMW's green car models are earning money، and the company's 'Neue Klasse' battery-powered vehicles due from 2025 will be even more profitable thanks to the new electric Mini Coopers that will charge faster and better range than their previous version as well as the new software will also provide improved speech recognition and over-the-air updates.
Cost pressures eating into margins for smaller green car models
However، he warned that with cost pressures eating into margins for smaller green car models or electric cars -EVs، European carmakers including BMW، Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen are handing over development and production to Chinese joint-venture partners.
Oliver Zipse indicated that green car Mini is overhauling other models as the Countryman sport utility vehicle، now based on a BMW platform، will be manufactured in Leipzig، Germany، although Mini still strongly identifies as a British brand and has vowed to keep its roots in the UK، where the government and BMW have been in talks over a potential deal to support investment in the company’s Oxford plant.
BMW green car Mini to introduce a 5-door-crossover called Aceman
He confirmed that in 2024، green car Mini will also introduce a 5-door-crossover called Aceman to replace current hatchback and station-wagon variants، while Great Wall will manufacture the electric Cooper and Aceman models in China، Mini’s UK plant in Oxford will produce the combustion-engine versions of both models.
BMW unwraps Next-Generation green car models to take on American Tesla and China’s BYD as BMW’s Neue Klasse models will have a range of 800km and charge from %10 to %80 in under half an hour ringing in a new stage in the fight to catch up to foreign companies and defend sales in China، its most important market but the price war in China started by Tesla has also upped the pressure.
BMW to compete with US and Europe for green-tech investments
BMW is seeking government incentives to increase investment in the
Oxford plant، and UK officials have yet to announce a deal as securing an agreement would be a significant marker for the UK، which is struggling to compete with US and Europe for green-tech investments.
BMW has presented the first prototype of its future electric vehicle line-up that is a nod to customers in China، who are increasingly going for home-grown brands such as BYD and Nio which have been better at building green car models or EVs with gadgets geared to local tastes such as software that can process voice commands and hand gestures instead of touting a digital display projected onto the entire width of the windscreen.
BMW ranks second in China for tech features in its green car models
But BMW still ranks second in China when it comes to tech features in its green car models، according to a recent consumer survey by consultancy AlixPartners who said that BMW came in behind Geely’s Zeekr but ahead of Xpeng، Tesla and VW but BMW will not entirely throw its brand traditions overboard despite the new focus on digital features.
BMW chief executive Oliver Zipse revealed that the Neue Klasse sets the course of green car models for the next decades as BMW، Mercedes and Audi long dominated sales of premium combustion-engine cars in China، but have been caught on the back foot by the country’s rapid shift to electric vehicles.
BYD dethroned VW as China’s top-selling Co
BYD in 2023 dethroned VW as China’s top-selling automaker، and Mercedes slashed prices for its flagship electric sedan of green car models، there late in 2022 after disappointing sales and electric cars and plug-in hybrids are expected to make up % 90 of the world’s biggest auto market around the end of this decade، adding urgency for Western premium brands to accelerate their offerings.
While most green car models these days offer swift acceleration، the Neue Klasse will be more fun to drive at higher speeds than many competitors، according to Mr Zipse who added that development of the Neue Klasse is targeting to reduce battery pack costs by half and achieve 25% more range per kilowatt-hour، a key measure of efficiency.
