Mini sold the Paceman two-door coupe-crossover from 2012 until 2016 when it was discontinued due to low sales. Now it’s reportedly coming back as an EV, but while it’s said to retain a toned down version of the coupe-like roofline, rear doors will be added to make it more practical and broaden its appeal.
As much as we would like to see more two-door models, the first Paceman didn’t really strike a chord with buyers as a two-door, so turning it into a four-door vehicle is a sound step; The four-door Mini Countryman proved far more popular and now set to get a third generation which will feature both electrified and fully-electric powertrains.
We believe this sportier Paceman and a larger, more practical Countryman are the two electric crossovers that Mini said it would launch by 2024; the Countryman is expected to be revealed first, in 2023, and our spies have already sent us photos of it showing quite a tall, upright crossover shape.
Gallery: New Mini Countryman spy photos
Car magazine says the sportier looking Paceman EV will debut in 2024 powered by a battery pack with a capacity of around 60 kWh, which will give it a real world range of about 250 miles; there may even be a dual-motor all-wheel drive setup for hotter versions. It will be built on the same platform as the new fully-electric Mini hatch, and probably in the same factory in China.
Back in 2019, BMW teamed up with Great Wall and it was announced that the joint venture would produce electric vehicles in China. The factory that is being built specifically for this purpose in the Jiangsu province of China is expected to produce some 160,000 Mini-badged vehicles per year, all of which will be electric.
If it’s like the other new models expected to be added to the Mini lineup in the next few years, the new Paceman will most likely also be offered with internal combustion engines. However, fuel-burning versions will be phased out by 2030 when Mini has vowed to become an EV-only manufacturer.
