BMW Group’s China joint venture with Great Wall Motor is set to start production in 2023, as the automaker aims to have electric vehicles make up a quarter of its sales in the country. The construction of a manufacturing plant with Great Wall is “well under way” and the main structure should be completed later this year, BMW’s CEO for China, Jochen Goller, said in an interview at the Shanghai auto show earlier this spring.

Production of two Chinese MINIs for the China and global markets will start in 2023, he said. But what that means for the US and European market remains somewhat unclear. MINI has gone out of their way to speak about 2025 and how that will be the year that the last new internal combustion engined MINI launches. So what’s the plan?

Chinese MINI

We think it’s rather simple. The Countryman and another crossover should launch in 2022 and 2023 respectively. Then the next generation small electric and petrol powered MINIs will launch in 2023 and 2024. What launches in 2025? We believe it will be the next generation convertible which was just recently announced by MINI.

What about the Chinese MINI? That will be 100% electric and is intended to be a global vehicle. However before you ask Oxford will also be making electric MINIs according to MINI. What models and when remains a mystery.