On December 10th, IT Home reported that Light Beam Automobile Co., Ltd. is a joint venture established by Great Wall Motor Co., Ltd. and BMW Holding Corporation, with each holding 50% of the shares, mainly producing domestic MINI electric cars.
The latest “Announcement of Road Motor Vehicle Production Enterprises and Products” published by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology includes two new companies, “Guangzhou Automobile Co., Ltd.” and “Weilai Automobile Technology Co., Ltd.”, both listed as “newly established pure electric passenger vehicle production enterprises”. In simple terms, being listed in the proposed new list of vehicle production enterprises means that the company has passed the relevant department’s review and will obtain the necessary production qualifications after the public notice period.
According to public information, the Beam Automotive production plant project was officially launched in Zhangjiagang on November 29, 2019, with an annual standard production capacity of 160,000 vehicles. The products of Beam Automotive will enter the sales and service networks of BMW Group and Great Wall Motors respectively, according to the plan. In October of this year, the domestically produced new Mini pure electric vehicle model officially started production at the Beam Automotive factory. The vehicle will be launched in 2024 and supplied to the global market, with the first batch of SOP models for export only. The Zhangjiagang factory of Beam Automotive will be the main production base for the next generation Mini, producing not only the new Mini Cooper, but also a compact crossover Mini.
The new car taken offline this time is the high-end SE version of the all-new MINI COOPER, equipped with a front-mounted single electric motor, with a maximum power and torque of 160kW and 330N·m respectively, zero to one hundred kilometers per hour acceleration in 6.7 seconds, a battery capacity of 54.2kWh, and a WLTP pure electric range of 402 kilometers. In addition, the new car supports 11kW AC slow charging and 95kW DC fast charging.
According to the plan, the next generation of pure electric MINI models will include a three-door MINI Cooper and a compact crossover. The two new cars will be produced at the Brilliance Auto factory and will be available for both domestic and international markets. The domestically produced MINI electric vehicle will be exported to overseas markets in 2024. In September of this year, BMW unveiled the 2025 models of the MINI Cooper E and SE at the Munich Motor Show. Related reading: “Domestically produced MINI electric vehicles will be mass-produced and exported next year, produced by Brilliance Auto, a joint venture between BMW and Great Wall Motors.”