BMW is set to delay the development of the next-generation Mini hatch due to uncertainty over Britain’s trade relations with the European Union after Brexit and a need to cut costs, according to reports.
The third generation of the revived hatchback was launched in 2014, and a new version had been due to arrive in 2022 or 2023.
But BMW spokesman Maximilan Schoeberl said that the new model would now be delayed. The current Mini is built on BMW’s UKL1 platform, and Reuters quoted Schoeberl as saying: “The lifespan of this platform has been extended. For cost reasons and because of Brexit.”
Most examples of the Mini hatch, including the new electric version, are built at the BMW Mini plant in Oxford, although many of the parts used are imported from the European Union. While Britain has now left the EU, the current trading rules will remain in place until the end of 2020 while a new deal is negotiated - which could potentially include tariffs on goods crossing the border.
The Mini hatch, along with a number of other Mini and BMW models, is built under contract at the VDL Nedcar factory in the Netherlands, and BMW has repeatedly stated that it could move production away from Britain if a future UK-EU trade arrangement includes significant tariffs on exports.
When it arrives, the next-generation Mini hatch is set to shrink in size, and will shift from UKL1 to a yet-to-be-confirmed new platform, which is likely to be either BMW’s FAAR architecture or a new one understood to be in development with Chinese firm Great Wall.
Switching to a new platform would require significant investment to upgrade the current Mini production lines in both Oxford and the Netherlands, at a time when BMW is trying to make substantial cost savings to free up resources to invest in electric, connected and autonomous vehicle technology.
BMW is in the process of dramatically cutting vehicle development costs and slashing the number of engine and gearbox combinations it offers in a bid to lower costs.
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Mini to shrink flagship hatch for next generation
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Jaguar
Why not jointly develop the next Mini with Jaguar...the Jaguar XA / BMW Mini?
Flat Brexiters.
Like Flat Earthers they're still in denial about the effects of Breixt and what harm it will do to the UK.
They've been absolutelly conned that Brexit will only ever improve their lives, but how? Vacuous promises and lies? Boris ran away from all of his as quickly as he could! Even now on Brexit day, the day he wanted, he was nowhere to be seen.
Boris is Busted. All Bluff and Bluster. Not fit to be PM. And, for the record, neither was Corbyn.
Britain has never before been so poorly represented by politicians on all sides.
Now you're going to start to see the costs of Brexit as automotive and other manufacturers start packing up and leaving the UK, leaving Brits out of jobs, leaving the country poorer. But will Brexiters take responsibilty for their actions? No.
Symanski wrote:
How do you get out of bed in a morning when you have such a negative view of the country you live in? You must be in a constant state of frustration. Hope you can find peace.
Reality bites.
Reality is going to bite you.
Or you could try and explain the advantages of Brexit. Go ahead and list them...
Symanski wrote:
Control over all aspects of the political management of the UK within Parliament without outside interference.
Capability to trade internationally and develop a more diverse set of trading relationships.
Removal of obligation to freedom of movement.
One level of elected governance as opposed to two with the EU parliament to take into account.
Reduction of the impact of globalisation on UK cultural, economic and sociological touch points.
Greater ability to insulate the UK against problems in the Eurozone and EU in general.
Capability to diversify trade beyond the EU.
Heightened sense of national pride and perception of sovereignty.
Greater accountability of UK Government - no more blaming EU regulation for UK decisions.
It's what a democratic majority wanted and indicated through democratic verdicts in four democratic elections.
hackjo wrote:
All you've listed is isolationism. And we've now got a global economy, which means Britain has to have a presence on the global platform.
For that harmonisation of standards across the EU has only benefitted Britain - and why we were one of the leaders in that process. This reduced British industry's costs.
We're giving up trade deals with our neighbours in the hope of making better ones elsewhere. Worse, it's frictionless trade we have with our neighbours, which is far superior to free trade. Investigate the difference and you'll see why that is so important.
The only tariffs you can remove is your own. That means more imports to the UK pushing out UK industries. Every country in the world operates a system to protect their own industry.
EU had trade agreements with many nations and regions around the world and Brexit is to give them all up. These take decades to arrange.
Freedom of moment benefitted Britain in two ways. Those who wanted to work in the EU had the right to. And Britain was able to employ skilled workers from the EU, something that our industries especially in engineering needs.
Nothing you have listed benefits Britain past a nostalgic sense of superiority that never existed.
Ignoring all the political