MINI and Great Wall Motors to build electric Mini cars in China

MANILA: Car manufacturers BMW Group and Great Wall Motors announced their partnership to start building Mini electric vehicles (EV) in China. Numerous car manufacturers have recently been establishing joint ventures in the Chinese region, with the most previous one being Daimler and Geely earlier this year. The joint venture between BMW and Great Wall will be a 50:50 scheme under the name Spotlight Automotive Limited.

“Today we are taking the next step in our collaboration: With the BMW Group as a pioneer in the field of electromobility and Great Wall as a major player and expert in industrialization in the Chinese market, we are joining forces for development and production of the future electric MINI and new Great Wall models,” says Klaus Fröhlich, BMW’s chief of R&D.

The BMW Group also shared in their announcement on Friday how building electric Mini cars at a profit can be challenging in western markets. Hence, their consideration of the Chinese region for manufacturing.

“This joint venture will enable us to produce a larger number of MINI-brand-fully electric vehicles at attractive conditions for the world market. This is also an important strategic step for the MINI brand. The joint venture with Great Wall underlines the enormous importance of the Chinese market for us,” says Dr. Nicolas Peter, BMW’s head of finance.

BMW and Great Wall shared that they will each be shelling out 650 million euros (approximately $715 million) into the joint venture. A new plant will be erected in Zhangjiagang, which is located in China’s Jiangsu Province, and is expected to be completed by 2022. It will be the main plant for manufacturing future electric Minis including various models for Great Wall Motors and its brands.

Reports speculate that one of the first joint development projects could be the rumored Mini car with the Mini Rocketman Concept that was first hinted at back in 2011.

According to the two automakers, the initial capacity of the plant will begin at 160,000 units annually with 3,000 staff members at the helm.

The BMW Group assures that while they are exploring a relationship with China, Mini will continue to build models in its current plant located in Oxford, United Kingdom. According to the automaker, the Oxford plant will continue to produce Minis for sale worldwide and will soon be unveiling the upcoming Cooper SE.

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