Mini is joining the not-so mini list of vehicle brands going all-electric.
Der Spiegel reports the BMW Group’s small car brand will only sell all-electric vehicles from 2030 onwards, making it the first brand in the group to entirely ditch internal combustion engines.
The last new generation of a Mini model powered by an internal combustion engine will be introduced in 2025.
Before then, Mini has confirmed it’ll introduce two electric crossovers.
The next-generation Mini Countryman, due in 2023, looks set to get an all-electric version and continue to occupy the compact crossover segment, with the new unnamed ‘small-car segment crossover’ to be exclusively electric and smaller than the Countryman.
By 2027, the company reportedly expects half of its sales to be all-electric models.
The brand currently offers only one, an electric version of its three-door hatch sold here as the Mini Electric, though it also offers a plug-in hybrid version of the current Countryman crossover.
Mini has also confirmed it’s looking to introduce all-electric John Cooper Works models.
BMW boss Oliver Zipse is expected to announce the electric shift at a group financial results presentation in the next few weeks.
The brand is focusing more on the Chinese market and has entered a joint venture with Great Wall Motors, which will spawn a Chinese-built, all-electric model in 2023.
China is becoming an increasingly important market for the manufacturer, accounting for around 10 per cent of Mini’s global sales.
Mini follows Volvo and Bentley in introducing a 2030 deadline for the switch to electric vehicles.
Fellow small car manufacturer Smart has already dropped internal combustion engines from its Fortwo range, while two upcoming SUVs will use Geely’s all-electric Sustainable Experience Architecture.
