A new report coming in from the land of the MINI claims the British brand is currently pondering building a new crossover, one that would sit under the Countryman and would have compact proportions. The news comes from Auto Express, quoting sources close to the matter. And while it may make sense in today’s SUV-crazed society we live in, it would go blatantly against the ‘five superhero’ recipe the boss of the brand was talking about until recently.
In the past, Peter Schwartzenbauer, the CEO of MINI, said that the company will focus on five key models moving forward, dropping those that are simply not selling well enough, to focus the diminishing resources of the brand on what truly matters. In this regard, we are currently looking at a range made up of four models: the hatch (in 2- and 4-door guises), the Convertible, the Clubman and the Countryman.
The fifth model would be the electric city car that is currently under development and has been previewed by the MINI Electric Concept showed a while back. And that makes complete sense, as the world is currently focusing more and more on hybrids and electric models that cut emissions as low as possible. The thing is, with a move like introducing a new crossover in the range, right under the Countryman, MINI could actually stand to make some serious money.
The car would rival the likes of the Volkswagen T-Cross and would be just as long as the four-door hatch which would make it roughly the size of a Mazda CX-3. Basically, it would be a four-door MINI hatch on stilts and it would probably be bought by a serious number of interested buyers, as the SUV craze doesn’t seem to slow down any time soon. Furthermore, the same report claims that the powertrain would be completely electric and that would be a big plus for the prospective new model.
