It’s a strong start to October for MINI Benelux after PwC Belgium doubled the number of electric cars in its fleet. The company has ordered no fewer than 200 Cooper SEs, all of which will be delivered by the end of the year. Around 160 cars have already been handed over to employees, with the rest of them coming in the next three months.
The new electric hatchbacks come to replace 200 diesel cars, helping PwC Belgium cut 400 tons of CO2 each year. That’s almost as much as what 20,000 trees expel from the air every year. By year’s end, it’ll have around 300 electric MINIs in its fleet. Specialized in audit, tax, and consulting services, the company says it’ll be carbon neutral by 2028. That’s two years earlier than originally planned.
The switch to EVs follows a decision taken by PwC Belgium in 2021 to slash fleet emissions by 20% every two years. Annually, the firm intends to reduce CO2 emissions by 1,000 tons. Around 77% of its cars are already either hybrids or EVs. PwC Belgium opted for the more powerful Cooper SE instead of the base E model. These electric hatchbacks were made in China but the “J01” won’t be exclusively produced there.
From 2026, the BMW Group will make the little electric hatchback in Oxford. It’s the same story for the Aceman, an electric-only small crossover currently built in China. In a couple of years, it too will carry the Made in UK label. Doing so will allow the BMW Group to dodge the high tariffs on China-built EVs exported to the EU.
As with the previous-generation model, the electric hatchback is a three-door-only affair. However, the new Aceman is effectively a five-door model in a crossover body style for those seeking extra practicality. By the end of the decade, MINI will abandon sales of cars with combustion engines by going all in on EVs.
Source: MINI Benelux