Is an EV MINI really a MINI?

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Hatch said:
This fact gives me some small hope that maybe BMW could ship the parts and assemble the SE in Germany to at least avoid the China tariff. Or do the same with Oxford.

Then, maybe do the same with Mexico to get part of the tax credit, if demand from previously mentioned strategies shows promise.

Maybe the SE is not a big seller is the US, but it IS a huge untapped market since not many comparable cars exist here. The little 2 door is just so cool. It could start to take off if enough people catch on.

I'm allowed to dream..
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Honestly MINI just needs to provide much more 24-month aggressive leasing rates (0.9% APR or less) to meet the $4,000 2-year used EV tax credit (under $25,000). Assembly requirements as well as battery or critical mineral requirements are exempt for the used EVs. I could get my $7,500 from another qualifying vehicle AND still afford to lease an electric MINI in the same year!
 
For me anything pre 2014 MY isn’t a properly BMW era car. As the R series doesn’t share much with BMWs of the same era. Even R50s are more a Rover, Peugeot/ Citroen melange of parts. BMW might have owned Mini but there was little BMW about it. As time went on you did start to see some BMW systems in electrical mostly. You saw valvetronic appear as well. But it didn’t share engines with other bmw products, didn’t share much at all.

the F series cars were designed around BMW architecture. From the CANBUS to Powertrains available.
 
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Only the design language was BMW (Chris Bangle era). Particularly the first gen Budweiser beer can exhaust and boob shaped side mirrors thanks to Frank Stephenson.
 
teslarati97 said:
Only the design language was BMW (Chris Bangle era). Particularly the first gen Budweiser beer can exhaust and boob shaped side mirrors thanks to Frank Stephenson.
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When you go to the plant in Oxford they have a museum on site. Rover had already done lots of the engineering work on the new car.

British cars of that era were hilarious even more so than BL or Vickers era stuff. You had Rolls Royce with no factory. A Land Rover with the oil leaking BMW M62 that was built by Ford. A Mini that was a ******* love child. A Bentley built by some strange VW BMW affair. It was an absolute mess. Then you had poor old Rover itself producing nothing of note. Ahh the mess of the British Car industry. It gets better BMW still owns the trademark to Triumph
 
Hatch said:
I don't know, don't you think if it has a devoted group of owners, that would make it a MINI? One other common trait of the brand is a vehement argument by owners that OTHER MINIs are absolutely not true MINIs. I could be wrong, but I don't see that to the same degree with other brands.
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Come hang out with a few Jeep Wrangler owners... Or WRX owners... or Abarth 500 owners...
 
Yup. It was the rare CJ driver who gave me the “Jeep wave” as I glided by in my shiny, comfortable, new YJ Laredo.
 
Tommm said:
If it looks like a duck, if it handles like a duck, it must be a Mini
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Now, if MINI / BMW only made available a duck's "quack" for the low-speed pedestrian warning sound, the MINI SE would also sound like a duck!

(Plus, a good quacking sound would probably be actually noticed by more pedestrians than "... a 1950s science fiction spaceship that changes pitch upon acceleration" of today.)
 
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That’s a good review. Is Roy a member here? [I haven’t been around long enough to associate names with handles and avatars]
 
Texas22Step said:
"... a 1950s science fiction spaceship that changes pitch upon acceleration" of today.
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SameGuy said:
That’s a good review.
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I didn't read the review until @SameGuy pointed out the "today" link was a link to a review and a good one. The author, Roy Nakano, who also created the LAcar.com website on which the review is found, owned a MINI Cooper S before purchasing an SE and I was interested to hear a former S owner who didn't miss the sound of the 4-banger:

"Unlike the 2010 MINI Cooper S I previously owned, the all-electric MINI Cooper SE lacks the engine noise and vibrations of its petrol-powered variants. It was the one quality of the old Cooper S that gave it a frenzied quality that was tiring at times. The electric Cooper SE has none of that, meaning you can have fun and enjoy it in the luxury of silence."

Sadly, because it came out in June, this review was too late for readers to order an SE and receive it before the IRA clobbered the $7,500 federal EV tax credit. OTOH, the review came too early to join in the speculation that after losing the EV tax credit and incurring a 27.5% import tariff, the Chinese 2024 MINI Cooper SE might cost so much that sales in the US could prove unfeasible.
 
I’m almost certain that the new car will still be built in the UK for our market. Chinese and Asian market cars in China. BMW has lots invested in Mini and overall USA is still an important market for BMW Group as a whole. I don’t believe much from auto journalists…
 
MrSnrub said:
I’m almost certain that the new car will still be built in the UK for our market. Chinese and Asian market cars in China. BMW has lots invested in Mini and overall USA is still an important market for BMW Group as a whole. I don’t believe much from auto journalists…
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This is what I've been saying as well. It makes the most sense to my underinformed brain.
 
According to this (I know - it is still studied speculation), the '24 SEs will only be built in China, with only the 'test' EV convertible slated for Oxford - not the 2-door hardtop. This article also quotes a German article (which is behind a paywall, so I could not translate and read it) which says that US dealers are expressing interest in the '24 SEs even with the potential import duties. But the last sentence seems so confident: "...as production at BMW’s Oxford plant is set to cease."

https://topelectricsuv.com/news/mini/2024-mini-electric-details/

"Handelsblatt published a report on June 11, 2022, claiming that MINI U.S. dealers received a secret preview of the next-gen model in May 2022. The report suggests that they were so impressed with the product that they were willing to pay the import duty that would be levied on it due to its Chinese origin. In its internal discussions, the company is likely concerned about the complicated trade and geopolitical factors between the two countries. However, this may be the only way to keep the MINI Cooper Electric in dealer showrooms through to its second generation, as production at BMW’s Oxford plant is set to cease."
 
GvilleGuy said:
"Handelsblatt published a report on June 11, 2022, claiming that MINI U.S. dealers received a secret preview of the next-gen model in May 2022. The report suggests that they were so impressed with the product that they were willing to pay the import duty that would be levied on it due to its Chinese origin.
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Again, like the LAcar.com review also released in June, this report could not predict the end of the SE's $7,500 federal EV tax credit. It would be interesting to ask these same dealers if they were willing to pay the import duty and compensate for the loss of the $7,500 tax credit just as MINI is reducing their SE trade margin from 6% to 3%.

Assuming more than one dealer participated in the secret preview of the 2024 SE, why haven't their impressions of the much-anticipated car leaked? If it was just one dealer, I can understand.
 
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Nobody is going buy it at a 25% premium unless BMW manufacturing costs are that much lower in China.. you also still have ICE models. Where will those be produced if Oxford is closing ?
 
MrSnrub said:
Even the current SE is iffy value (at least the USA still gets a base model car)
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No, MINI eliminated the base Signature trim from the US MINI Cooper SE offerings.

What are the small, sporty alternative EVs that offer more value than an SE? (Preclaimer: I don't count the taller and heavier Bolt as sporty.) The asking price for the least expensive used SE available these days almost certainly more than the original owner paid for it.

What other EV is so wonderful that people gladly accept sub-120 mile range and grudgingly wait for months to get one?
 
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insightman said:
What are the small, sporty alternative EVs that offer more value than an SE? (Preclaimer: I don't count the taller and heavier Bolt as sporty.)

Perhaps an even better recommendation: What other EV is so wonderful that people gladly accept its measly 114-mile range?
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BMW CE 04 Electric Scooter? That only has an 80 mile range with a 8.9kWh battery.

20210708_ce04_01-1000x667-2940692848.webp
 
insightman said:
No, MINI eliminated the base Signature trim from the US MINI Cooper SE offerings.

What are the small, sporty alternative EVs that offer more value than an SE? (Preclaimer: I don't count the taller and heavier Bolt as sporty.)

Here's value for you: What other EV is so wonderful that people gladly accept its measly 114-mile range and grudgingly wait for months to get one?
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The Bolt offers better value and the avg consumer will tend to go with better value. It’s not sporty but is a better overall package. The Mini SE fills a strange void in the market but is somewhat a niche product. You have to like Minis or have been a repeat consumer to purchase the SE. I’d be curious to see how many new Mini owners purchase the SE vs existing Mini owners who have had one or a few. BMW has years of market research and I know for a fact they tend to cater towards repeat customers across all divisions

The SE we ordered is just over 50k CDN which is pricey but the 12k in rebates makes it somewhat better to live it
 
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