Ahead of the IAA Mobility 2023 conference in Munich, the BMW Group are hosting media to present its next-generation of electric cars. Day 1 with Mini took place at Sugar Mountain in Munich, which showcased the new Mini electric family that is described as digital and distinctive. Recharged was in attendance, hosted by BMW South Africa.
The three door electric Mini Cooper is all about urban driving, while the new electric Countryman is now bigger with a focus on space, comfort, and safety, available in all-wheel drive. The vehicles will officially launch in April 2024, which is coming to South Africa in Q2 2024.
Olivier Heilmer, Head of Mini Design, says of the new EVs that in terms of digitalisation, we are entering a new chapter, and the idea was to approach it from a human way, not the logical way. “We call it analogue embraces digital,” says Heilmer.
Quick Look: Cooper and Countryman
Mini OS9 and round OLED Display
I’ve been most excited to see the new round OLED display, which now runs on Mini operating system 9, based on Android but looks nothing like it – ha, that is optimised for touch and voice controls. It has a 240mm diameter, which takes infotainment to the next level.
It’s like a round tablet with a bright and colourful interface, unlike any other infotainment system I’ve experienced. There are 8 different modes you can switch to like Go Kart, Trail, Personal, etc that changes the look and interface to match. You can hours playing around, there’s so much to discover. As you can tell, the air vents are now vertical.
This is what the eco mode looks like:
The queues to access the two display cars went on for hours, but this is from the limited time I had with them. I will share a Reel later on my Instagram account.
I love how modern the cars are now and cannot wait for 2024 when they arrive in South Africa. Pricing will be revealed when the models officially launch. Stay tuned.