The Mini Aceman has been revealed by a government regulator in China and will likely debut at an event in Beijing on the eve (April 24) of the 2024 Beijing Auto Show. It will be the second car produced by Spotlight Automotive the joint venture formed by BMW and Great Wall Motor (GWM) following on from the all-electric Mini Cooper.
Further details of the Mini Aceman and Aceman S were revealed by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) including pictures and critical specifications.
Size wise the two versions are identical with width of 1754 mm and height of 1515 mm and a wheelbase of 2606 mm. Curiously there are two lengths listed as 4076 and 4094 mm for both the two cars and the difference is purely in the front and rear overhangs. Examination of the listings tells us that the greater length is due to optional front and rear bumpers which increase the car’s length.
The Mini Aceman slots in between the Mini five-door and the Mini Countryman. While the style is very identifiably Mini the front headlight cluster is no longer round but angular. In keeping with being an EV the new car adopts a closed front face with only a thin air vent at the bottom. The Aceman S gains a silver skid plate and accenting along with an ‘S’ badge.
Like the headlights the sides of the car are that bit more angular than we’re used to with Mini styling and the car has a floating roof thanks to the blacked out pillars and mirrors. At the back the roof has a spoiler and the car of course has the iconic split Union Jack lights. Wheels come in 17, 18 and 19-inch varieties.
The Mini Aceman has a 135 kW electric motor and a 40 kWh battery pack which should be good for a range of around 300 km, top speed is 160 km/h. The Mini Aceman S is faster with a top speed of 170 km/h thanks to a more powerful 160 kW motor. Range is also up at around 400 km due to the larger 54.2 kWh battery pack. Both batteries are ternary lithium (NCM) and none too surprisingly come from Great Wall subsidiary Svolt.
Spotlight Automotive who produce the Mini Aceman was established with a registered capital of 1.7 billion yuan (232.7 million USD) in 2019 to accelerate Mini’s electrification strategy by manufacturing future fully-electric Mini models at a factory in the city of Zhangjiagang, Jiangsu Province. GWM and BMW each hold 50% of the shares of the joint venture. The cooperation model between the two parties can be summarized as a “joint venture without joint venture”, whereby they jointly develop and produce cars, but the products are sold separately through their respective sales networks.
Editor’s note:
Spotlight Automotive seems to be one of the strangest JVs in China. BMW already had a JV with Brilliance (now 75% owned) and there seemed to be little point in the second JV. It also took ages to get off the ground by Chinese standards and actually produce anything. Also the deal was inked just before the requirement for a JV partner was lifted for manufacturers of EVs, as subsequently exploited by Tesla.