2020 Mini Electric Spy Shots Reveal Exterior and Interior of the Car
The 2020 Mini Electric spy shots revealed that the signature hardtop model will not have exhaust pipes and even a traditional grille. In some of the shots, you would notice that an accent light runs along the width of the grille. There’s also a new wheel pattern that Mini previewed during a teaser shot of the car released earlier this month.
The concept for this car was first previewed at the 2017 Frankfurt auto show and is only one of the 12 electric cars that the BMW Group plans to produce by 2025. For Mini, the first batch would include their signature hardtop model though visually, there are not many features that separate the electric version from the gasoline-powered models.
In terms of powertrains, Mini remains mum on specific features because the technology is rapidly evolving and there might be new ones available by next year. That being said, experts still expect to see a single electric motor at the front axle and batteries located beneath the rear seat. The range should be somewhere in the 200-mile figure or higher, depending on the EPA rating.
The engines will be manufactured from the same factories in Germany that produces the hardware for the BMW i3. The car, however, will be assembled at the Mini plants in the United Kingdom and China. For the production in China, Mini will tie up with local automaker Great Wall.
This is Mini’s turn to launch a production and volume EV. Thought the company was a pioneer of electric vehicles (it leased a hardtop-based Mini E electric car on a trial basis late last decade), its efforts have been overshadowed by the likes of Tesla Model 3.
After the launch of the electric hardtop version next year, the BMW Group should also unveil an iX3 SUV in 2020 and the iNext in 2021.
Check out the new spy shots of the Mini Electric from Motor Authority in the gallery below:
