Note: This press release is a 1:1 copy of the original issued by BMW headquarters in Germany. No adaptations have been made to cater for the UK market.
Munich. Urban mobility, sustainability, cosmopolitanism and individuality are at the focus of dialogue with visionaries and the community at numerous locations in the Munich city area. MINI Brand Hub in the MINI Pavilion on Lenbachplatz will be the “place to be” at IAA 2021. Urban mobility and sustainability are the central themes of the International Motor Show (IAA) 2021, which will be held for the first time in Munich, the headquarters of the BMW Group, where it will become a forum for lectures and discussions on the future of individual transport and living together in urban centres. MINI is enriching this dialogue at IAA Mobility 2021 with innovations and visions for locally emission-free driving fun, consistent resource conservation, individuality and emotionally powerful experiences. The motto #BIGLOVE chosen by MINI refers to both protecting the climate and the environment as well as to interpersonal contacts. In this way, taking responsibility for the natural foundations of life meets cosmopolitan and non-discriminatory cooperation in the worldwide MINI community.
At IAA Mobility 2021, MINI will be seeking dialogue with the public in various formats and at several locations in the Bavarian capital. At the Summit at the Munich exhibition centre, the focus will be on the topics of electrification and digitalisation. The “Open Space” on Max-Joseph-Platz in the city centre serves as a stage for new mobility concepts in urban transport. As the MINI Brand Hub, the MINI Pavilion on Lenbachplatz will be an oasis of inspiration and a place for getting together in a relaxed atmosphere. The current exhibition at BMW Welt shows the entire model range of the British premium brand.
The various locations of IAA Mobility 2021 will be connected via the Blue Lane, which will run through the city area and offer visitors the opportunity to enjoy locally emission-free driving fun in the all-electric MINI Cooper SE (combined power consumption: 17.6 – 15.2 kWh/100 km according to WLTP, 16.9 – 14.9 kWh/100 km according to NEDC). An online streaming service will broadcast the highlights of IAA Mobility 2021 digitally to the entire world, either live or as a recording.
The Summit at the exhibition centre.
The Munich exhibition centre is the venue for the so-called Summit, where traditional exhibition activities are combined with new forms of communication. MINI will be staged in the exhibition halls with the full focus on electric driving fun. The highlight there will be the MINI Electric Pacesetter inspired by JCW. With its agile driving characteristics and all-electric drive, the car has recently proven itself outstandingly on the tight street circuits of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship. In addition, the exhibition stand, which can be experienced interactively and is designed in the style of an inner-city industrial setting, offers an overview of the brand history, the current range of vehicles with electrified drive systems and visions for the future of urban mobility.
The all-electric MINI Cooper SE and the plug-in hybrid model MINI Cooper SE Countryman ALL4 will be on show there (fuel consumption combined: 2.1 – 1.7 l/100 km (WLTP), 2.1 – 1.9 l/100 km (NEDC); combined power consumption: 15.5 – 14.8 kWh/100 km according to WLTP, 14.8 – 14.1 kWh/100 km according to NEDC, CO2 combined emissions: 47 – 39 g/km (WLTP), (48 – 44 g/km (NEDC). The popularity of these two models recently ensured that in the first half of 2021 more than 15% worldwide, and in Germany as much as 30%, of all MINI brand vehicles sold are already electrified. To highlight its versatile character and as inspiration for taking trips into the countryside, the MINI Cooper SE Countryman ALL4 is presented at the Summit with a roof tent from the Italian manufacturer Autohome that harmonises with the MINI design among other things.
In addition, the latest MINI Lifestyle Collection, the smartphone-based digital service MINI Sharing and the latest version of the MINI App will be shown at the Summit. The universal digital interface between the MINI and its driver offers new functions for convenient navigation as well as helpful charging support for plug-in hybrid and electric vehicles. The MINI Vision Urbanaut will also be shown as part of a digital presentation. Another glimpse into the future of mobility and coexistence in urban areas is provided by the URBAN-X programme, an accelerator for tech start-ups founded by MINI, whose ideas and projects will also be presented at the Summit.
Open Space in the city centre.
The physical model of the MINI Vision Urbanaut will be on display in the Open Space on Max-Joseph-Platz in the immediate vicinity of the State Opera and the Residenztheater. There, visitors can learn about current innovations and pioneering concepts for sustainable mobility and discuss ideas and strategies for the urban transport of tomorrow with experts. Creating dialogue between exhibitors and the public is one of the key innovations of IAA in 2021. The MINI Vision Urbanaut will also be a talking point. The study, which can be experienced by the public for the first time as a real vehicle in the MINI Urban Hub, embodies the future of sustainable design and a new interpretation of the brand’s typical “clever use of space”. The all-electric vision vehicle not only conveys the freedom of individual mobility, but can also be used as a place of retreat or as a meeting area to exchange ideas with friends.
MINI Pavilion on Lenbachplatz.
With the MINI Pavilion on Lenbachplatz, the British brand has an attractive meeting place in the city centre area that is set to become an absolute “place to be” during IAA Mobility 2021. There, the focus is not on the cars, but on the general attitude of the brand, which is expressed in the motto #BIGLOVE. Exhibitions, presentations and discussions as well as a diverse entertainment and cultural programme await visitors in the historic building, which MINI shares with several renowned partners from the fields of lifestyle, design and technology. Among other things, presentations are planned by tech start-ups that deal with the future design of urban living spaces and are supported by MINI as part of the Startup Accelerator URBAN-X. At another live event with thought leaders under the motto “The city of tomorrow is created today”, the dialogue platform “The Sooner Now” is also hosted in the MINI Pavilion.
In addition, the design of the MINI Pavilion is dominated by a new collaboration between MINI and the British designer Paul Smith. The aim it to jointly design solutions that focus even more strongly on the topic of sustainability. Sir Paul Smith has long been one of Britain’s best-known menswear designers. At the end of the 1990s, he designed a limited special series of the classic Mini in a shade of blue he created, as well as a one-off with a paint finish in the typical multicolour stripe design. The first result of the new collaboration is a unique current MINI model, which can be admired in the MINI Pavilion at IAA Mobility 2021.
MINI product range on display at BMW Welt.
Another port of call for visitors to IAA Mobility 2021 is the BMW Welt at the Olympic Park. The futuristically designed experience centre also houses a MINI brand world in which the current model range and numerous other products are on show. In addition to the wide range of current models for the premium small car and premium compact segments – from the MINI Cooper SE to the extremely sporty John Cooper Works models – the new products from the MINI Lifestyle Collection will also be shown there. The MINI Vision Urbanaut and the URBAN-X initiative are also represented in the MINI Area with digital presentations.
