RUMOUR HAS IT... Big changes at Mini; electric vehicles set to charge
Big changes at MiniWITH radical new, future-previewing concept cars for Mini, Rolls-Royce and the Motorrad motorcycle division this year, BMW Group CEO Harald Krüger is promising some things will change at its small-car brand, Mini."The Vision concept for Mini will take the topic of customisation driven one step further," he says. "And we will reveal a change of our business model."With the Mini Vision concept car set to be uncovered in London in June, Krüger’s statement has driven speculation that BMW could be expanding its co-operating with hydrogen fuel-cell partner Toyota.While key rival Audi drives down the costs of its A1, Q2, Q3 and A3 rivals by developing them from higher-volume Volkswagen Group architectures, Mini bases all its cars and SUVs off the BMW Group’s more expensive UKL architecture. Any move to create the oft-speculated mini Mini would need a different base layer than the UKL, lest it be become a perpetual loss-maker, regardless of its volumes.Mini joined the BMW...
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