This is Your First Official Look at the Next Electric MINI

No more spy shots or camouflaged prototypes. MINI is now giving us our first official look at the next-generation three-door hatchback, more specifically the fully electric Cooper.  

Obviously, it’s not a radical departure from the current model. The body features cleaner surfaces with flush door handles and the elimination of plastic cladding around the wheel arches. Up front, the grille surround is slimmer and not unlike the one on the Aceman concept, while the body-coloured panel in the middle is larger.

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MINI continues to offer contrasting mirror caps and roof—the latter now incorporating panoramic glass—and unique wheel designs. The black-and-silver alloys seen here make it look like the spokes are broken up. We can only imagine the result once they start to spin.

British website Autocar reports that the car boasts wider tracks, shorter overhangs, a longer wheelbase and larger wheels. No measurements are available, however.

The rear-end treatment is totally different, with trapezoidal taillights connected by a thick black bar where the model’s name is found. They are fully integrated to the liftgate, too, and the Union Jack motif seems to have been revised to look less prominent.

MINI didn’t share pictures of the interior, but we can see through the windows that the seats are completely redesigned for a more modern and sportier appearance. Also, based on the leaks from December 2021, we know that the dashboard is cleaner, the round interface housing the centre touchscreen is larger and more detached from the dashboard, and there are fewer controls below (although the classic MINI toggle switches remain). The instrument panel behind the steering wheel is gone, leaving just a small head-up display in front of the driver.

All signs point to MINI officially introducing its next-generation hatchback later in 2023, most likely for the 2025 model year. The electric variant will ride on a whole new architecture resulting from a collaboration between BMW Group and China’s Great Wall Motors. Production will take place at a Chinese plant, while the conventionally powered hatchbacks will still come from the Oxford factory in the U.K.

One last thing: it appears that the gas-powered MINI 5 Door will be indirectly replaced by a production version of the aforementioned Aceman concept. The company’s goal, remember, is to sell nothing but EVs by next decade.