MINI Traveler, this is what the model based on the BMW 2 Series Active Tourer will look like, which will rival the Mercedes-Benz B-Class

MINI may be planning to enter the small MPV market with a new electric model. It will be the most practical vehicle the brand has produced so far, and everything points to the revival of the Traveler name. With this electrified car, MINI will be able to go head to head with the Mercedes-Benz B-Class from 2023. In addition, some reports suggest that the Traveler will be the mini version of a BMW 2 Series Active Tourer.

The upcoming MINI MPV that could arrive in 2023 has been designed to attract family car buyers who want more versatility and interior space than the existing MINI Clubman and MINI Countryman.

The new family car will be based on the FAAR platform of BMW, which supports front-wheel drive and all-wheel drive. There will be versions powered by internal combustion engines, a plug-in hybrid and, later in its seven-year lifecycle, a battery-electric powertrain in a Traveler SE model that will compete with the Volkswagen ID.3, which will be unveiled this week at the Frankfurt Motor Show.

In purely electric form, the new MINI model is set to be paired with the successor to the BMW i3. That means it will be offered with the latest battery cell technology and a range of more than 402 kilometres.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dlfCR5e5aY4

MINI Traveler, a worthy rival for the Mercedes-Benz B-Class?

The move is part of a comprehensive realignment of MINI’s global operations, which will split its range into two distinct areas. Future models will be based either on the FAAR platform or on a new entry-level platform being developed in a joint venture with the Chinese carmaker Great Wall Motors.

The realignment, devised by the recently deceased chairman of BMW, Harald Krüger, aims to give MINI a less costly operating base and scope for a wider range of models. In future, MINI’s production activities will focus on three plants: Born in the Netherlands; Zhangjiagang, China; and Oxford, UK. Satellite operations will continue in India, Malaysia and Thailand.

In addition to planning replacements for the compact, the MINI Clubman and the MINI Countryman, the brand is developing two crucial new models due at the end of 2023. The goal is to increase annual sales volumes well beyond the 361,531 achieved in 2018.

Now in its third generation, we find out whether the bigger, smarter and more mature MINI can still entertain as its predecessors did. One will be the long-awaited production version of the Rocketman. The entry-level Smart Forfour rival will be fully electric and based on the development of Great Wall Motors’ ME platform. It will be produced under a joint operation called Spotlight Automotive, based in China.

The second approved new model, expected to be called Traveler, will rival the Mercedes-Benz B-Class and plans exist for it to be developed using technology from the upcoming BMW i3. It may also closely follow the BMW 2 Series Active Tourer. The new five-seater is intended to complement the existing MINI models. Production is likely to begin in the Netherlands at the end of 2022, according to senior sources at the brand.