John Cooper Works Mini EV or the Evolution of Small Appliances?

by Jason R. Sakurai

Published: December 29th, 2020

john cooper works mini ev or the evolution of small appliances

John Cooper Works Mini and electrification, do they go together? Do buyers who pay a premium for the JCW brand want or need an electric version?

Does the evolution of the Mini model range and parent corporation BMW’s ongoing expansion of electric mobility offer anything new for enthusiasts and loyal owners of the John Cooper Works brand? Driving enjoyment being the raison d’être for JCW, does this mean that extreme performance and genuine driving enjoyment will be available with electric drive as well as combustion engines? Will this open up new possibilities for future Mini vehicle architecture?

If you ask Mini, they’ll tell you all about what they’ve accomplished in electric mobility. They referenced the Mini Cooper SE Countryman ALL4 plug-in hybrid’s miserly combined fuel and power consumption, as the rationale that led to electrification of 5 percent of the brand. With the launch of the all-electric Mini Cooper SE, 10 percent of all Minis were now plug-ins. Based on just 10 percent and not considering the 90 percent still gas-powered, Mini said in a press release that they are preparing to press on in the development of John Cooper Works EV models.

“With the Mini Electric, we’ve shown how well brand-typical driving enjoyment and electric mobility can be combined,” said Bernd Körber, head of the Mini brand. “Now it’s time to translate the passion for performance of the John Cooper Works brand to electromobility. That’s why we’re working to develop concepts for electric John Cooper Works models.”

The current focus on the development of a Mini John Cooper Works EV demonstrates just how important electric mobility is in terms of BMW’s future direction, a goal of sustainability, if not performance and passion.

“John Cooper Works models with conventional combustion engines will still continue to have an important role to play, to make sure we’re addressing the wishes and needs of performance enthusiasts all around the world,” said Bernd Körber. “With this new focus on electric performance, we’re also creating the opportunity to sharpen the distinctive profile of the John Cooper Works brand more than ever before.”

Battery-powered tools and appliances being what they are, I’ll keep my corded DeWalt drill and rotary saw. It’s frustrating having to wait for cordless tools to power up again. I wonder if John Cooper Works EV owners will feel the same?

[ Images: Mini]

#ElectricVehicles #EVs #JohnCooperWorks #MINI #Technology

Jason R. Sakurai

With a father who owned a dealership, I literally grew up in the business. After college, I worked for GM, Nissan and Mazda, writing articles for automotive enthusiast magazines as a side gig. I discovered you could make a living selling ad space at Four Wheeler magazine, before I moved on to selling TV for the National Hot Rod Association. After that, I started Roadhouse, a marketing, advertising and PR firm dedicated to the automotive, outdoor/apparel, and entertainment industries. Through the years, I continued writing, shooting, and editing. It keep things interesting.

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10 comments

SCE to AUX on Dec 29, 2020

In the US market, Mini's sales have been shrinking for 5 years straight, and its market share is less that half its already 'mini' size of 2012. The brand is dying, and all the marketing buzzwords in the world won't save it. Problem #1: The brand name - change it. Problem #2: In keeping with the brand name, making a large Mini that people might actually want is an oxymoron. Problem #3: Because Minis are small by definition, they are quite limited in terms of EV capacity. An electric Mini might be quick, but it will suffer from class-lagging short range and will be much heavier and more costly. Critics will hate it. **** "Battery-powered tools and appliances being what they are, I’ll keep my corded DeWalt drill and rotary saw. It’s frustrating having to wait for cordless tools to power up again." That's a cheap comment from the 2010-era, as is the headline to this story. EVs and cordless tools don't have much in common, and the obvious solution to battery filling on cordless tools is to have a second battery. That works very well on my battery-powered drills, leaf blower, impact wrench, power ratchet, tire filler, and snow blower, but in typical use they don't even need a change.

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- Mcs on Dec 29, 2020
  
  "I’ll keep my corded DeWalt drill and rotary saw. It’s frustrating having to wait for cordless tools to power up again." You're obviously an amateur. Lithium powered tools are far superior to corded. All you do is buy multiple battery packs and you're good to go. As a hobby, with a friend of mine, I help restore vintage vehicles. Often that means traveling to odd places to strip parts from parts cars. Sometimes in barns and usually out in a field or in a junkyard. Cords aren't an option and we usually have limited time so using hand tools isn't an option. It really isn't a problem. When the battery quits, you just swap in another one and there are no cords to get in the way. I'm also an experienced EV owner. Six years now. There's no need to wait for charging. The car charges overnight and I always have a full "tank" when I get into it to drive. Haven't been far enough in it in the last year that would require stopping for a charge. The current EV will be replaced by one with 300 to 520 miles range depending on what I buy. I never drive more than miles in a day, so I doubt I'll be stopping for a charge away from home. If I do, I can find plenty of things to do while it charges. I really like food and I'm perfectly happy finding food while the car charges.
  
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- Inside Looking Out on Dec 29, 2020
  
  Are there gas powered drills on the market? Filling up gas tank will take less than a minute. Just giving you an idea how to make you first billion.
  
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- ToolGuy on Dec 29, 2020
  
  @Inside Looking Out, I am making rapid progress toward a fusion-powered portable drill using my VSST (Very Small Scale Tokamak). Many of the tokamak components are 3D printed for me by the 4th grader across the street. [Was getting some unhelpful quantum effects, but relocating the server to the bathroom closet seems to have helped with that.]
  
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- Mcs on Dec 29, 2020
  
  @inside: If I could just get myself a turbo-diesel impact wrench, I could get rid of those battery packs! Actually, it could be done with a solid oxide fuel cell. I've fueled my EV with with a natural gas SOFC in the past. You could use propane. I'm just not sure I'd want it on a cutter. Sparks + propane not good.
  
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- Mcs on Dec 29, 2020
  
  @ToolGuy: Wait, wait, let me guess.. you're just 15 years away from getting it work!
  
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- Scoutdude on Dec 30, 2020
  
  I'm trying to remember the last time I used one of my old standard corded drill. Even then it wasn't really a standard drill as it is one that I attached a drill guide system that makes into a sort of portable drill press. But the last time I actually used it was ~7 years ago. To use it now I'd need to clean up the guide rods as they were drfintely a little rusty from sitting so long. I only really know that from reorginizing my tools early on in the pandemic. Now if you are talking serious drilling, mixing mortar and self leveling compound I do pull out the corded Hole Hawg. Now there are a couple of M18 Hawgs. I have been eyeballing them but I don't use it that frequently and it isn't cheap so I haven't pulled the trigger...yet. Now if once shows up on the clearance shelf at the local HD with a decent discount it will go in the cart. The old corded circular saw does get pulled out when cutting lots of Hardie products.
  
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- Inside Looking Out on Dec 30, 2020
  
  @ToolGuy We actually made a big progress already towards fusion power generation - Koreans were recently able to sustain fusion reaction for 20 seconds. It is enough power to drive a car from Earth to Moon and back.
  
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- ToolGuy on Dec 30, 2020
  
  @Inside Looking Out, Some technology is easy; some technology is hard. • Fusion power generation is easy. • Adding upvote button to website in 2020 is hard. (Why should I drive to Moon? China can bring back samples for me.)
  
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- ToolGuy on Jan 01, 2021
  
  @Scoutdude These kids today are spoiled and don't even know it: https://youtu.be/byU2GUiZ3I4
  
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