Last month we revealed that Mini, under the BMW Group, confirmed its plans to go fully EV by 2030 with it announcing that its last new internal combustion engine would be launched in 2025. It was also noted that Mini would be working together with GWM to create a new vehicle architecture for battery-powered models. It’s now been rumoured that for this project, Mini will be reviving the Minor moniker.
As reported by Autocar, the Minor is rumoured to be the first model to come from this joint venture which will be assembled at the new Spotlight factory in Jiangsu. Construction for this new R11 billion plant began last year.
The Mini Minor’s packaging will benefit from a flat floor enabled by the battery pack as well as the new all-in-one electric powertrain units being developed by BMW to provide superior packaging. Codenamed ‘Heat’, these new units will combine a new type of water-cooled motor, power electronics and a single-speed transmission into a module that fits into the space of a typical internal combustion engine.
For those not familiar, the Minor badge was used on the initial model introduced in 1959 alongside the Austin Seven badge until it was officially changed to Mini a few years later.