Mini Countryman III: production begins in Germany

Presented at the start of the 2023 school year, the third generation of Mini Countryman is the technical cousin of the BMW X1. As such, it is produced in the BMW factory in Leipzig. This is the first time that a Mini model has been produced in Germany. The German production site has also been adapted to accommodate the British model, with an investment of 700 million euros over the last five years, and the creation of more than 900 jobs planned by the end of 2024.

“By launching production of the Mini Countryman here in Leipzig, we are introducing multi-brand operations into our flexible production system” specifies on this occasion Milan Nedeljković, member of the board of directors of BMW Group for production: “The Leipzig plant also offers a number of strengths in terms of resource conservation in production, which is further proof of the successful deployment of our long-term master plan: the BMW iFactory.”

Mini Countryman III: a flexible production line

The Leipzig production line is distinguished by its flexibility: the new Mini Countryman has been integrated into the production process, to be produced on the same assembly line as the BMW 1 Series, 2 Series Gran Coupe and 2 Series Active Tourer. Investments in the factory have made it possible to modernize the facilities, while increasing production capacity to 350,000 vehicles per year (compared to 250,000 previously): by next year, 500 examples of the new Countryman will be produced each day.

This production line is also capable of assembling different variants of these models, whether thermal, plug-in hybrid or 100% electric. Regarding the Mini Countryman, we will find gasoline, diesel and 100% electric engines under its hood: the high-voltage batteries of the Mini Countryman Electric, which will be launched on February 17, 2024, are also manufactured on site.

Sustainable materials

The third installment of the Mini Countryman aims to reduce your environmental footprint : Mini has removed the chrome, the alloy wheels are made up of up to 70% of recycled materials, while electric motors are produced without rare earths. Inside, the dashboard, door panels, floor covering and floor mats, among others, are covered with recycled textiles.

For painting the bodywork, and in particular the customizable two-tone roof, it is carried out using a new painting method called “paint without overspray”: it eliminates excess material used, to optimize the process and reduce CO2 emissions.

The energy used within the factory is also sustainable: four wind turbines present on site make it possible to generate 10 MW of electricity, or approximately 25 GWh per year, and are supported by a storage park comprising 700 recycled high-voltage batteries from BMW i3, to store the energy produced while optimizing energy management locally. The Leipzig plant also plans to replace its use of fossil fuels withgreen hydrogen.

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