First J01 produced yesterday

Prior to 2018, foreign automakers were restricted to a 50/50 joint venture with a Chinese automaker. After 2018, the Chinese Ministry allowed for 70% (ie. BMW purchased an additional 20% from their Brilliance JV partner) and by 2022 the Ministry allowed for 100% ownership (no JV required).

Unlike traditional ICE-based brands, Tesla was able to negotiate with the Chinese to get 100% ownership in 2018 in exchange for corporate espionage to jumpstart domestic EV manufacturing.

 

I thought BMW's joint venture with Great Wall Motor Co., Ltd. was as much for technology as to satisfy Chinese restrictions on foreign companies. Isn't BMW using a lot of GWM's Ora-car (the Good Cat and Funky Cat) technology in the J01 MINI?

 

If you are talking about batteries and propulsion then yes there is certainly some cost savings with Ora (Good 好) Funky Cat (猫) platform. GWM also has a large stake in SVOLT for battery manufacturing so there will certainly be future cooperation with BMW for nearby gigafactories across the world.

Heart of Joy will probably be in-house as it will amalgamate multiple drivetrain ECUs under ethernet instead of CAN Bus separate modules used by Tesla.

 

MINI Germany site (https://www.mini.de/de_DE/home/range/electric.html) has all kinds of info on the J01, including four (!) trim levels with (German) prices: essential (36,900 €), favoured (45,460 €), classic (43,560 €), JCW (45,860 €).

There's also a "fly-through" as you scroll through the page.

(Note: the Safari translation to English did a fantastic job for me.)

 

Now that BMW is officially moving to SAE J3400 (NACS), it looks like the U25 Countryman will have J3400 for North America.

 

So it's confirmed, MINI's ditched the fake hood scoop--even on the JCW "trim." Who will be the first to install an aftermarket scoop on this car?

If the eventual JCW J01 looks exactly the same as the J01 with JCW "trim," that's a mistake IMO. If it doesn't look the same, what means the "JCW trim" option?

No Energetic Yellow mirrors is a deal-breaker for me. Not even the yellow J01 (color not available on JCW "trim") has yellow mirrors. So, no, I'm not racing to both of the two MINI dealers in my state to see which one can get me a J01 first.

 

JCW trim has the sporty bumpers, rear spoiler, and extra stripes. I think the red roof/mirrors is JCW trim only.

 

Scoop sticker, anyone?
Don't want to ruin the aero.

 

They really had no choice as everyone is going NACs. Better yet the NACS to CCS is already here https://a2zevshop.com/collections/charging-adapters/products/nacs-ccs1

for “older cars”

 

I keep meaning to drive up to Laval to check it out.

 

(I didn't realize Safari could translate. Thanks for that.)

Not much colour choice for the DE J01. Odds of J01s looking like each other will go up.

 

This video by a UK dealership shows several details I hadn’t seen covered before:


The presenter also says that the among the new features available on the SE’s seats, in addition to the power operation with memory presets that others here have mentioned, are power-adjustable lumbar support and even a massage function — I wasn’t expecting that!

I was psyched to hear a 360-degree bird’s-eye view, as mentioned previously here, is going to be available, too, as I dearly miss that feature from one of my previous cars.

I do wonder if all this kit is going to be made available on U.S.-spec SEs — I sure hope so!

I’ve been a big fan of the new design direction Mini is taking with these next-gen models since those first spy photos came out, and now, having a chance to see more of the styling and features in videos like this one of cars that appear to be near-production models, I absolutely love everything about the new look!

 

Rather than wishing my SE had massage seats, I'd love to have adaptive headlights. The video didn't mention adaptive headlights or any other options other than the HUD, which, IMO, would be essential with no instrument panel in front of the driver. How long does it take to move the electric seats forward to allow rear-seat ingress/egress?

 

What is that fog around that factory bc I don’t see any chimneys burning coal that picture must be modified or a chimneys are miles away.

 

Are we getting with red roof complementary gold stars as a roof decal?

 

I like the JCW-look fascia but find the rear spoiler and diffuser abhorrent.

 

OMG, yes!

How many times has he brought that up? lol

 

How did you add 360?

 

I got another chance to mention the fake hood scoop yesterday when responding to @rob-sf who was showing the brackets he 3D printed to attach fake exhaust pipes to his MINI Electric. I showed restraint and didn't reiterate the word "skeuomorphic" as I am wont to do with regard to ICE-throwbacks.