The Mini Cooper SE was unveiled earlier this year and the BMW group now has it in their pipeline to bring it to India but that will happen only by 2021.
Mini globally unveiled the Cooper SE hatchback earlier this year. The Mini Cooper SE is the brands first all-electric mass produced vehicle and now the BMW Group has plans of bringing it in India. However, its not going to be any time soon but only in 2021. The brand cites the country’s EV infrastructure (or the lack, thereof) as one of the reasons behind this decision.
In an interview with Autocar India, Francois Roca – vice president, Mini Asia-Pacific, Eastern Europe, Middle-east and Africa suggested that the Cooper SE was not a priority model for India immediately. “We’re ramping up the production, so we will be servicing the first markets that are near the plant. It will come eventually.” Roca said. He added, “We need infrastructure. So when there will be very large infrastructure, it definitely makes sense to have the BEV in the Indian market. Today, I would say it can’t be that we have to be in India with the BEV to tick a box.”
The electric MINI Cooper SE was unveiled in July, earlier this year. This is an all-new electric car from the BMW group after the i3 and is in fact, based on the same platform as the i3. The Mini Cooper SE retains the classic Mini shape and proportions. Just by one glance, you could mistake it as any regular Mini but looker closer and the differences aren’t all that subtle.
The conventional grille has been replaced with a silver and green panel with an ‘e’ badge. The air dams below have been made much neater this time around. At the rear, there are no dual exhaust or a diffuser. The coolest visual element on the Cooper SE are the Union Jack LED tail lamps. They look stunning. The charging ports are in place of the conventional fuel filler cap. Also, the asymmetrical wheel design particularly look very quirky.
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On the inside, its instantly recognizable as a mini with the round motifs all around. What’s new is the all-digital instrument cluster and some different detailing on the dashboard. The Cooper SE gets three driving modes to chose from – Green, Mid and Sport. Also, the ride height has increased by 18 mm because the batteries are packed down on the floor.
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The Mini Cooper SE will be powered by a 181bhp electric motor mounted on the front axle with 270 Nm of peak torque. It will do the 0-100 kph sprint in 7.3 seconds and has a top speed of 150 kph. It has a 32.6-kWh lithium-ion battery pack which claims to have a driving range of 235 to 270 kilometres under the new WLTP test cycle. The Cooper SE can be charged to 80% in two and a half hours using a standard 11kW charger whereas to fully top up the batteries, you will need about three and a half hours. With fast charging, the car can be charged up to 80% in just 35 minutes. The car will go on sale in the international markets in 2020 and will make it India soon thereafter.
