First German-built Mini gets production ready

MINI will produce its first German-made model from this year, the new Countryman SUV to be manufactured at the BMW Group plant in Leipzig southwest of Berlin in both pure electric and internal combustion form.

According to BMW Group, production of the biggest Mini model is a suitable fit for the Leipzig facility, which is said to rate as one of the most modern and sustainable automotive factories in the world. The Liepzig facility’s 5600 employees produce around 1000 vehicles every day. 

The new Mini Countryman will come off the production line alongside the BMW 1 Series, 2 Series Gran Coupe and 2 Series Active Tourer models. It is the first time BMW and Mini models have been produced at the same facility.

Head of Mini, Stephanie Wurst, said production of the model at Leipzig is another step in the brand’s transformation toward greater electromobility, as well as the sustainable production of e-components used in battery electric vehicle (BEV) production.

“We are delighted to be able to hand over the first Mini ‘Made in Germany’ to our customers in a CO2-neutral manner thanks to the plant’s sustainable energy supply,” she said.

“In this way, the new all-electric Mini Countryman demonstrates what the brand stands for: electrified go-kart feeling and a strong focus on a minimal environmental footprint.”

Ms Wurst said the expansion of the group’s electromobility program is integral to its long-term sustainability strategy, and that one in five Mini models produced today are electrified.

She said the Mini Countryman will join the fold from the end of this year, with components including the high voltage battery to be made on site, further reducing emissions created from within the model’s supply chain.

Following an €800 million ($A1.26b) investment from BMW, the Leipzig facility will be expanded to run eight production lines by 2024. The future production area of 150,000 square metres will also result in an additional 1000 people employed at the site.

According to BMW Group Plant Leipzig director Petra Peterhaensel, the use of wind generators, solar panels and reused i3 battery packs at the facility has contributed greatly toward its status as one of the world’s greenest car production plants.

She said the plant is working toward the complete use of hydrogen in place of natural gas, with an adjacent filling station to also power industrial trucks.

“Our Leipzig vision is the complete decarbonisation of production by replacing fossil fuels with hydrogen,” she explained.

“At the BMW Group plant in Leipzig, we are the first automotive plant in the world to use a newly developed burner technology in our paint shop that can use green hydrogen instead of natural gas.

“Hydrogen has already been used in the plant logistics since 2013. Today, five hydrogen filling stations provide energy for over 130 fuel cell-powered industrial trucks, the largest fleet in Germany.”

The Countryman is one of the first models that will assist Mini in its move to becoming an all-electric brand. Mini has stated previously that all models will be electric by the end of the decade.