Is anyone holding out for the new version?

More to my point, how much of the engineering and design will come from BMW? Will the Zhangjiagang SE be much more than a rebodied Funky Cat?

 

If I was BMW, I'd have sent my guys to talk to their guys and see how had the best X, Y and Z.
I would be amazed if BMW went for badge engineering.

If you are wondering why BMW wants EVs made in China, bear in mind that china is over half of the world's EV market.
The Chinese can build high quality stuff, if you want them to. They also have a decent amount of very clever people. Apple managed to make good quality stuff there whilst treating their workers horribly. I don't many people calling for an Apple boycott.
Yes worker conditions and other human rights stuff are sometimes awful, but that is also true in some western countries. Some workers get treated very well.

I'm going to wait and see what they are like. Maybe I'll want one, maybe I won't.

 

Wouldn't there be promotional leaks by now if this new SE was great? We were hearing about the 2020 SE in 2018. Maybe the Zhangjiagang SE is great, but mum's the word because BMW can't decide if they want to sell it at a loss in the US.

 

I wonder if Canada will get the “Chinese Mini” import duty is only around 6% on par with Euros etc

 

Dropped off on their way to the UK?

 

I wonder, do MINI's Canadian operations depend the US selling the same cars? How many MINIs were sold in Canada last year?

 

Probably the best way to get an estimate is to check the Canada iZEV stats ($5,000 CAD federal instant rebate). So for the 2022 year:
Alberta 22 2.64%
British Columbia 283 33.97%
Manitoba 3 0.36%
New Brunswick 5 0.60%
Newfoundland/Lab. 5 0.60%
Nova Scotia 13 1.56%
Ontario 164 19.69%
Prince Ed. Island 2 0.24%
Quebec 333 39.98%
Saskatchewan 3 0.36%
2022 MINI SE 3-dr 833 100.00%

Quebec also has a $7,000 provincial instant rebate so that's about $9,000 USD ($12,000 CAD) off the sticker price. There are no income restrictions but only a MSRP price cap of the vehicles to access the EV rebates. There is a loophole for "packages" like the PHEV Lexus 450h+ can have a $20,000 package and still qualify for the iZEV rebate!

USA has a population of ~331m compared to Canada's ~37m and there were 10,197 hardtop 2-dr models (ICE+EV) delivered in 2022 per BMW North America.

Worldwide there were 43,744 electrified MINI SE + Countryman SE models delivered for 2022.

 

So with basic math, roughly one-ninth the population would mean ~1135 2-door hardtop models delivered in Canada, of which 833 were SE? Or do we conclude the 3-door ICE + SE is proportionally a much better seller up here, the SE especially so in BC and QC?

 

With the BC ($4,000 under $80k income..previously no income threshold) and QC ($7,000 for under $65k MSRP) rebates the Cooper SE ends up less than the Cooper S ICE equivalent. Ontario also has affordable off-peak electricity prices despite lack of provincial rebates.

Honestly the allure of AWD probably pushes them towards the Countryman ALL4. If you want a RWD vehicle with BMW Group you either have to custom order or go ///M.