The world of MPVs may be slowly dying out due to the
proliferation of SUVs and crossovers, who have taken the world by storm, but
Mini is reportedly looking to unveil an all-new electric people carrier. Citing absolutely no named
sources, Autocar claims that the new Mini might revive the Traveller moniker.
According to the same source, it will allegedly be
based on BMW’s FAAR platform that supports both front- and all-wheel drive
configurations. The flexibility of this platform will allow the car
manufacturer to offer the new Traveller with a handful of different internal
combustion engines, a plug-in hybrid, and the aforementioned all-electric
model.
It is claimed that the new Mini could be developed
alongside the eventual successor to the BMW i3 that, according to other
reports, won’t actually be a direct successor to the current model but shall
adopt a drastically different shape. The new Mini will ultimately be positioned
as a rival to the Volkswagen ID.3.
The report goes on to state that the new model will
form part of the British company’s realignment of its global operations that
will see all its future models either underpinned by BMW’s FAAR platform or an
architecture being developed alongside Great Wall Motors – a strategy that’s
said to be masterminded by former BMW chief executive Harald Kruger.
At the same time, the British automaker has
allegedly given the go-ahead for yet another electric car. Only this one won’t
be an MPV but a stylish three-door hatch that will essentially be the
production version of the 2011 Rocketman concept. If the report turns out to be
true, the Rocketman will use an EV platform developed by the Spotlight
Automotive, a joint venture between BMW and Great Wall, and shall be launched
in 2022.
