The brand’s boss says the Mini lineup needs to remain simple and easy to understand.
In addition to the upcoming five-door, Mini will also add the Aceman in the coming years.
The Urbanaut MPV concept has reportedly been put “in the freezer”.
Having just simultaneously launched new generations of its Cooper 3-door hatchback and Countryman SUV, Mini is working on other upcoming models.
According to the brand’s boss, Stefanie Wurst, the five-door hatchback will return alongside the three-door model, which is now officially called “Mini Cooper”.
This is the first time Mini has confirmed that this model will return since rumours previously had it that the upcoming Aceman sub-compact SUV would take its place in the lineup.
This was not to be as we now know that both models are planned to launch in the coming months.
2022 Mini Cooper S 5-door | Photo: Olivier Delorme
Since Mini has committed to becoming a fully electric brand, it makes sense that the new Mini Cooper is only offered as an EV for the moment.
This will soon change, however, since the company doesn’t want to lose out on sales of combustion-powered models until electric models make up a big enough part of the market to make EV-only sales sustainable.
Interestingly, this gasoline-powered version will use a different platform than the electric model since Mini says its architectures are tailored specifically to each powertrain.
The upcoming Mini five-door is likely to benefit from a similar arrangement as well, with the electric version launching first and a related gasoline-powered model coming later.
In addition to this more practical version of the Cooper, Mini has also confirmed a return of the sporty John Cooper Works (JCW) editions and the convertible for the new generation.
The three-door JCW Mini will reportedly launch in 2025, which gives an idea of the timeframe in which to expect the other additions to the lineup.
Given the number of products that are still in the pipeline, the brand’s boss was reluctant to talk about other upcoming models that could reach Mini showrooms later in the decade.
In addition, the executive said that the Urbanaut concept, a small pod-shaped MPV presented at the 2021 Munich Mobility show has been put on ice, at least for a while.
Source: Autocar
