MINI Confirms Electric Cooper & Aceman Production In The UK:
But Questions Remain
Feb 7, 25
MINI has confirmed that it will build an electric Cooper and Aceman at its Oxford Plant. However that doesn’t necessarily mean it will be the J01 Cooper and J05 Aceman as we know them.
Late last year, we reported that MINI had shelved plans to produce the current electric J01 MINI Cooper and J05 MINI Aceman at its Oxford plant. However, we were clear that this strategy shift didn’t mean MINI was abandoning EV production in the UK altogether. This week, MINI confirmed that by once again committing to building electric models at its Oxford facility with a major capital investment.
Electric Cooper & Aceman Production Confirmed For The UK
MINI has publicly reaffirmed its substantial £600 million investment to prepare the Oxford plant for production of two new electrified models and even named them—MINI Cooper and MINI Aceman—starting in 2026.
On paper, this might seem to contradict our earlier reporting. But our sources remain firm in telling us that the J01 and J05, as we currently know them, will not be built in the UK. Instead, the Oxford-built electric Cooper and Aceman will undergo significant updates, with components sourced from new suppliers—enough to warrant new BMW codenames, despite retaining the same model names.
Details on how MINI will change these models remain scarce. However, we do know there’s a pressing need to source components from suppliers and factories that are less impacted by European and American tariffs. Additionally, MINI is planning an LCI (BMW-speak for a mid-cycle refresh) to coincide with the start of UK production. Taken together, this means that the Oxford-built electric Cooper and Aceman could end up being noticeably different from their Chinese-built counterparts.
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Our Take
This is great news for MINI fans looking for clarity on the brand’s EV plans. And it aligns with what our sources have been telling us—EVs will be made in Oxford eventually. But there are still plenty of unknowns. Just how different will these models be? Can MINI refine them to be more competitive in cost, quality, and even weight—especially against rivals like the Renault 5?
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