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Credit: BMW Mini

BMW has reversed previous plans and will spend GBP600m to upgrade its factories in Oxford and Swindon to prepare for production of the new Mini – including electric models. 

The investment will be backed by GBP75m funding from the UK government’s Automotive Transformation Fund. 

Two electric models, the three door Mini Cooper and the compact Aceman will now also be built from 2026 at the Cowley plant in Oxford. Previous plans had based all EV output, bar the Leipzig built redesigned Countryman crossover, in China. 

BMW’s decision to invest in its Oxford plant followed discussions with the UK government. The Oxford plant has been producing electric Minis alongside conventional ICE models since 2019. 

From 2024 the factory will start producing the new generation three and five door hatchbacks with combustion engines plus a new convertible and add the electric Cooper three door hatch and Aceman crossover in 2026. 

In 2030, the plant exclusively will make electric models.

Hyundai Mobis and connected vehicles technology provider Autotalks are set to launch their latest collaboration in Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) technology, Hyundai Mobis’ MTCU (Multi-functional Telematics Control Unit) connectivity modules. 

V2X technology enables vehicles to use on-board communication tools to provide information to drivers including traffic updates, changing road conditions, potential road hazards and more. Mobis’ MTCU Gen1 supports Day-1 V2X services in all geographies and is powered by Autotalks’ V2X chipset. Day-1 applications alert drivers in dangerous, non-line-of-sight situations. It also features additional applications such as alerts about road hazards.

Mobis has chosen Autotalks’ 3rd generation chipset for its new connectivity module technology, MTCU Gen2. The technology will allow manufacturers to provide advanced safety applications based on V2X communication.

Shares in Vietnamese automaker VinFast Auto soared 68% to over US$37 on the first day of trading on the US Nasdaq market in August, valuing the company at a staggering US$85bn – way more than already established automakers such as Ford and General Motors. 

VinFast was founded in 2017 by Vietnam’s largest private conglomerate Vingroup, and began making vehicles in 2018 following a technical partnership with BMW and Pininfarina. It began production of a model based on the BMW X5 in 2019. 

Vinfast soon turned its attention to electric vehicles (EV) and launched its first, the VF e34, in Vietnam in December 2021. This was followed by the VF8 SUV last September and the larger VF9 earlier this year. A compact SUV, the VF6 is scheduled to go into production in Vietnam towards the end of 2023, to be followed by a smaller VF5.

Hyundai Motor Company and Saudi Arabia are expected to sign a deal next month to build an electric vehicle (EV) plant in the kingdom targeting growing demand for zero emission vehicles in the Middle East.

The automaker signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Saudi government at the end of last year in which it agreed to “advance automotive production in the kingdom.”

A formal agreement is expected to be signed in October during a scheduled visit by Hyundai Motor Group chairman Chung Euisun when the company is also expected to commit to building an assembly plant.

EVs will be assembled from completely knocked down (CKD) kits shipped from South Korea.

Toyota has released details of four next-generation batteries. It comes after it recently announced a new battery electric vehicle factory that is set to begin production of new models in 2026. 

Speaking at the ‘Let’s Change the Future of Cars’ workshop, Takero Kato outlined that Toyota’s next-gen models would account for a planned 1.7 million of the 3.5 million BEVs expected to be sold globally by the company by 2030. 

The four next-gen batteries include the Performance (lithium-ion), Popularisation (lithium iron phosphate), High Performance (lithium-ion) and solid-state batteries. 

The automaker has said it has made a “breakthrough” with its solid-state batteries. Previously the battery had an expected shorter life, but recent advances have overcome this challenge, the firm maintains.