The new, entirely electric MINI model generation is still expanding; in 2023, the BMW Group facility in Leipzig will start producing the new MINI Countryman. The crossover model will be available with both combustion engines and 100% electric driving. The first MINI “Made in Germany” will soon begin production, and arrangements are already well under way.
Fully Electric Future – MADE IN GERMANY
Beginning in 2023, MINI will transition to a totally electric future, beginning with the production of the new MINI Countryman at the Leipzig factory of the BMW Group. For the first time, a MINI model will be totally made in Germany. The locally produced, zero-emission all-arounder is a perfect match for the BMW Group’s Leipzig production facility, one of the most cutting-edge and environmentally friendly car plants in the world. As the company’s pilot project for developing a “green plant,” a long-term, sustainable strategy for energy generation and consumption comes into play here.
“To deliver the first MINI “Made in Germany” to our consumers, we are eager. The new, all-electric MINI Countryman, which emphasises leaving the least possible ecological footprint and has an electric go-kart experience, represents the brand’s principles, according to MINI Head Stefanie Wurst.
Leipzig’s transition towards increased electromobility and environmentally friendly manufacture of the E-components as well as the full vehicles is under the direction of Petra Peterhaensel, the plant director, and Sonja Hengstler, the new MINI Countryman’s project manager. An average of 1,000 vehicles are produced daily by a core staff of 5,600 workers. Together with the BMW 1 Series, BMW 2 Series Gran Coupé, and BMW 2 Series Active Tourer, the new MINI Countryman rolls off the assembly line in Leipzig. As a result, the facility becomes the first to produce cars under the BMW and MINI brands simultaneously, once again exhibiting maximum flexibility.
Driver’s Electromobility
The BMW Group’s sustainability strategy is fundamentally based on the growth of electromobility. A tribute to the desire of MINI enthusiasts for locally emission-free driving enjoyment is the fact that one in five MINI cars are currently electrified. The manufacture of the new MINI Countryman, which will start rolling off the Leipzig assembly line at the end of this year, will serve as the plant’s next significant turning point and economic stimulus. Next, the plant’s own manufacturing facilities will supply the high-voltage batteries for the all-electric MINI Countryman.
To do this, the BMW Group will invest more than 800 million euros and add eight production lines to its Leipzig facility’s capacity for producing e-components by 2024. The planned 150,000 square metres of production space for the production of E-components is a sustainable investment in the Leipzig plant’s long-term viability. The expansion is linked to job growth and even job security. More than 1,000 workers will be employed in the production of E-components by 2024.
Promise For Long Term Sustainability
The Leipzig plant is genetically predisposed to sustainability. Four wind turbines that are 190 metres high can be built right on the Leipzig factory site to produce some of the electricity necessary for the production of automobiles. Wind energy produced 21.9 GWh of electricity in 2021. This is equivalent to the annual electricity usage of more than 5,000 families with three people. Starting 2017, up to 700 high-voltage batteries from BMW i3 cars can be used to temporarily store the generated electricity in the battery storage farm.
“The full decarbonization of production through the use of hydrogen in place of fossil fuels is our goal for Leipzig. We are the first automotive facility in the world to deploy a newly created burner technology in our paint shop at the BMW Group facility in Leipzig, which allows us to use green hydrogen rather than natural gas. Since 2013, hydrogen has been employed in plant logistics. Currently, five hydrogen refuelling stations supply energy for more than 130 industrial trucks powered by fuel cells, the largest fleet in Germany “Petra Peterhaensel, plant director, makes this point.
The all-electric MINI Countryman, the brand’s largest model, ushers the new MINI family into an era of locally emission-free electromobility. This model generation marks the beginning of the brand’s transition to an all-electric one by 2030. The MINI Countryman will soon provide more room and even greater comfort because to space-saving components like the exceptionally flat high-voltage battery, which is also made at the BMW Group Plant Leipzig.
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