In 2021, MINI made one of the boldest commitments of any legacy automaker, announcing it would become fully electric by 2030. Four short years later, those plans and the models that were set to make it happen have all changed. Here’s the full story of MINI’s shift and why it could be the best thing to happen to the brand since its 2001 relaunch.
At the time of the 2021 announcement, the logic felt sound. MINI’s size, urban focus, and brand positioning appeared uniquely suited to an EV-only future, and the announcement set expectations across the industry and among buyers. The plan was to offer both petrol and electric options until 2030 when the brand would move to an all EV model offering.
Fast forward to 2025 and the brand has fundamentally altered its strategy by signaling that there is no official end-date for petrol powered MINIs. Here’s why it happened and what’s next.
The earliest signs of change appeared in late 2024, when we reported that MINI backtracked on its stated plans to build the J01 Cooper and J05 Aceman EVs at its Oxford plan in the UK. Given Oxford’s symbolic importance to MINI, this was not simply a manufacturing decision. It was an early signal that MINI’s EV roadmap was being reassessed at a structural level.
Days later, we reported that MINI canceled the J03 electric Convertible. Rather than forcing every body style into electrification regardless of cost or complexity, MINI was now willing to walk away from EV derivatives that no longer made strategic sense.
By the time 2025 began, the foundation of MINI’s original EV strategy had already shifted.
As the year unfolded, MINI stopped treating electrification as an absolute outcome and began treating it as a variable.
Early this year sources confirmed to MotoringFile that MINI would be developing a new combustion-powered Countryman rather than transitioning the model exclusively to electric power. For MINI’s largest and most commercially important vehicle, this was a defining move. Electrification would continue, but ICE would remain central to the lineup.
Later reporting confirmed that the combustion-powered Countryman would continue indefinitely, with no fixed sunset date. What had once been framed as a transitional bridge became an open-ended strategy.
By fall, MINI addressed timing more directly when it extended the current Cooper and Countryman as EV plans faced major delays. EV replacements were not canceled, but infrastructure readiness, affordability, and demand were clearly lagging behind earlier assumptions.
The message was now unmistakable. MINI was no longer planning toward a single global EV finish line.
| Model / Code | Powertrain | Platform | Start of Production | End of Production | Key Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| F66 Cooper (ICE) | ?? Petrol | (updated UKL) | 03/24 | 06/32 | MINI is extending the lifespan of the F66 by 2 years to give it flexibility as regulations shift globally |
| J01 Cooper (EV) | ?? Electric | GWM platform | 03/24 | 06/31 | It’s unclear how MINI will replace the J01 or if its partnership with GWM will continue |
| U25 Countryman (ICE) | ?? Petrol | FAAR (evolved UKL2) | 11/23 | 06/32 | MINI is extending the lifespan of the U25 to give it flexibility as regulations shift globally |
| U25 Countryman SE ALL4 (EV) | ?? Electric | FAAR-based EV | 11/23 | 06/32 | Intended to be a bridge EV model, production has now been extended four years. Powertrain refresh scheduled for 03/26. |
| NE5 Countryman EV (Next Gen) | ?? Electric | Neue Klasse (Gen6 EV) | 11/32 | 06/40 | All-new RWD EV withGen6 batteries based on the Neue Klasse platform |
| UXX Countryman (ICE) | ?? Petrol | TBD | TBD | TBD | It’s unclear what will underpin this new Countryman but we’d guess it will be a revised FAAR platform |
Regulation played a critical role in enabling MINI’s pivot. In September, we reported that the European Union began softening its 2035 EV mandate, introducing flexibility around compliance pathways, alternative fuels, and implementation timelines. This removed one of the largest external pressures that had driven MINI’s original all-electric plan.
For MINI, the regulatory reset allowed product planning to align more closely with market reality. For consumers, it meant more choice and a transition that no longer forced a single powertrain outcome on every buyer.
Nowhere was the impact of this strategic reset more visible than in the United States.
With the current administration resoundingly anti-environment, federal EV incentives were canceled and fuel efficiency regulations rolled back. That meant the days of $269 lease deals on the 2025 MINI Countryman were gone. The response was telling. Demand surged temporarily, then softened as incentives disappeared, highlighting just how dependent EV affordability remained on government support.
That reality forced MINI USA to adapt quickly. By the end of the year, we confirmed that MINI USA would build the Countryman SE only for customer orders as EV incentives faded. Rather than stocking EV inventory broadly, MINI shifted to a demand-driven model that reduced risk while preserving choice.
MINI did not abandon its electric future in 2025. But it did abandon the idea that electrification had to happen on a single, predetermined schedule.
The brand moved from commitment to optionality. From deadlines to adaptability. From a one-size-fits-all EV strategy to a regionally responsive approach that gives both MINI and its customers more control over how the transition unfolds.
Electric MINIs are still coming. Investment continues and BMW’s promising Neue Klasse platform is there for MINI when it’s ready. But internal combustion engines are no longer treated as temporary holdovers on the way to an inevitable endpoint. They are once again part of MINI’s long-term equation.
What MINI is doing is aligning itself more closely with how customers actually buy cars, how incentives shape demand in real markets, and how long meaningful transitions truly take.
