The 2024 Countryman is the first German-built Mini.
A redesigned Mini Countryman will be introduced later this year for the 2024 model year.
Prototypes have been tested around Europe for the past few years, and this week Mini confirmed that production will begin later this year, but at a factory in Germany rather than at contract manufacturer VDL Nedcar's Dutch plant where the Countryman is currently built.
The redesigned Countryman will be produced at BMW's plant in Leipzig, making it the first Mini to be built in Germany. This plant is where BMW manufactures its latest 1 Series, 2 Series Active Tourer, and 2 Series Gran Coupe, using the FAAR platform that underpins the redesigned Countryman.
The FAAR platform is an evolution of the UKL platform that underpins the current Countryman. One of the biggest changes is improved support for battery-electric powertrains. The new Countryman will take advantage of this feature and offer a choice of gas and electric powertrains.
To accommodate the high volume production of electric vehicles at the Leipzig plant, BMW invested more than 800 million euros (about $850 million) to add production of EV components, including batteries.Mini has not revealed any details about the new Countryman, but teaser shots and prototype spy shots indicate that it will be longer, mostly contributing to rear cargo storage. The larger size will also free up space in Mini's lineup for a smaller, fully electric crossover likely to go by the Aceman name.
