New electric Mini Cooper and Countryman to be revealed this week

BMW-owned British car-maker Mini will unveil its electric-powered, new-generation Cooper hatch and Countryman SUV this week – ahead of the petrol variants being revealed later this year.

Covers are due to come off the new electric Cooper (formerly known as the Hatch) and Countryman at the IAA Munich motor show on September 1 at 8:00pm Australian time – though we have previously seen the Mini hatchback’s exterior and interior in official images.

Both models will also be available with petrol engines, with the exterior design expected to differ slightly from the electric examples.

While the new Mini Cooper will be a heavy facelift of the outgoing model, the battery-powered version will be based on dedicated electric-car underpinnings, developed in conjunction with Chinese car giant Great Wall Motors (GWM).

Meanwhile, the new Countryman – in petrol and electric forms – will sit on one architecture shared with the BMW X1.

As exclusively reported by Drive earlier this month, examples of both the new Mini Cooper and Mini Countryman are already in Australia for customer previews behind closed doors, which took place last week.

Overseas reports have claimed the electric Cooper hatch and petrol Countryman are due to commence production before the end of this year, while the petrol Cooper and electric Countryman are scheduled to begin early next year.

Mini customers in Australia have been told the first examples are due in 2024, though a specific time is yet to be confirmed by the car-maker’s local division.

Stay tuned to Drive for more information about the new Mini Cooper and Countryman.