BMW announces that series production of the battery-electric Mini Countryman has begun at its Leipzig plant in eastern Germany.
The factory already makes the internal-combustion-engine version of the vehicle and now has the capacity to build the Mini Countryman E and all-wheel-drive sibling Mini Countryman SE at the facility after phasing out production of the BMW i3.
Its single production line will now handle the BMW 1-Series, the BMW 2-Series Active Tourer (including the plug-in hybrid version), the BMW 2-Series Gran Coupe on top of the two and the MINI Countryman versions in both BEV and ICE powertrains.
BMW estimates Mini Countryman production will rise to about 500 cars a day during 2024 with 800 BMW-branded vehicles currently being produced. Up to 900 additional jobs will be created and the plant is expected to employ 7,000 staff by the year’s end.
Petra Peterhänsel, plant director, says: “Our cars and components are very much in demand. In recent years the BMW Group has invested around €1.6 billion ($1.73 billion) in the Leipzig site to produce additional vehicles and electric components, and now we’re increasing vehicle volumes too, which is great news for our plant.”
