I spy a Mini marvel, says RAY MASSEY

This is truly the new generation electric mini hatchback. Unfortunately, the British style icon will be built in China under a joint agreement between owner BMW and Great Wall Motors rather than in the UK.

The company has released the first undisguised photos after spy photos were “leaked” from a California shoot. Photos from behind show that it is a Mini Cooper S.

Built on a new front-wheel drive platform, this Mini has a more purist, understated style. Get rid of thick plastic wheel arches. There are creases and lines designed to create unusual highlights and reflections.

At the rear, quirky Union Flag brake lights have been replaced with a new triangular configuration.

The cleaner design follows a previous collaboration between chief designer Oliver Heilmer and British fashion designer Paul Smith on a stripped-down Mini concept car

It is understood that the Cooper name will be used on all future 3-door hatchback models, with an entry-level Cooper E, an S, a more powerful SE and an even spicier 250bhp John Cooper Works version.

Depending on the model, battery capacity is expected to be 40 kWh – with acceleration from rest to 100 km/h in around seven seconds and a range of up to 250 miles – and a 50+ kWh battery with more punch and a range of 300 miles. The range will hit UK showrooms from May 2024, with a petrol version – still built in Oxford – to follow.

Munich-based BMW announced in October that all future electric models will be built abroad.

In March it said production of the new Mini Countryman will begin at its ‘green’ plant in Leipzig – the first German-made Mini.

BMW currently makes 40,000 electric Minis a year in Oxford, but production will end this year. As a consolation, the 2,000 workers there will be building Mini Cooper three- and five-door petrol hatchback models, plus convertibles, from 2025.

Skoda develops smart grille to warn pedestrians

Skoda has developed a smart grille to warn pedestrians when it’s safe to cross the road – and warn them when it’s not. It is being trialled by the Czech company – part of the giant Volkswagen group – as part of a new urban mobility project.

Signals on the LED radiator grille of a Skoda Enyaq iV warn pedestrians when it is safe for them to cross, and also warn when the car is moving away.

Skoda said: “As the car approaches a crosswalk, it can warn those waiting to cross in advance that it has seen them. It will then stop and display green arrows, for example, to indicate that it is safe to cross. Once they cross and the car is about to leave, he can show another signal to warn that the car is about to move.”

But the law would have to be changed to allow such plates on the road.

Who will maintain electric cars?

The push to put more electric cars on our roads is all well and good, but who will be trained to service them at your local garage?

New analysis from the Institute of the Motor Industry (IMI) predicts that 103,000 IMI-qualified technicians will be needed to work with electric vehicles by 2030, rising to 124,000 in 2032.

But that still leaves a ‘potential shortfall’ of 4,500 in 2029, rising to a ‘massive skills gap’ of 16,000 in 2032.

Wanting to see an acceleration of training, IMI says: “Earlier market expectations of electric vehicles requiring less time for maintenance may be misplaced, adding pressure to a workforce already dealing with an aging UK fleet.”

The IMI said more than 14,800 technicians have undergone training and testing to achieve TechSafe professional accreditation by 2022.