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NEW DELHI — Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz met on Monday in western Gujarat state to push for deeper economic and security ties between the South Asian nation and Europe’s largest economy.
Modi and Merz…
Cornwall Council is continuing its response and recovery work following Storm Goretti, with clean-up operations expected to continue into this week and disruption likely for several days.
Council teams have…
“Transformation” is a word we hear constantly in insurance. Insurers are tackling legacy systems, driving for efficiencies, modernising their businesses, and trying to unlock new capabilities across the value chain.
Drawing on global research and real-world experience, Matthew Smith, Global Lead, Strategy and Transformation, Insurance Partner at KPMG in the UK highlights the gap between cost-reduction targets and actual results, and outlines practical steps for success:
Munich. The MINI brand looks back on an extremely
successful 2025. With a total volume of 288,290 vehicles, MINI
achieved a significant sales increase of 17,7% compared to 2024
figures. Particularly impressive is the high demand for battery
electric vehicles (BEVs): with 105,535 fully electric MINIs delivered
in 2025 (+87,9%), the brand achieved a new record in electromobility,
resulting in more than every third MINI sold worldwide being electric.
In many markets, the share is significantly above 50%, such as
Netherlands, Turkey, Sweden and China.
Jean-Philippe Parain, Head of the MINI brand, emphasizes: “MINI
continuously increases the share of fully electric vehicles, thereby
demonstrating its innovative strength and future orientation. Our
strong volume growth across all regions in 2025 clearly reflects the
exceptional appeal of the MINI model family. The updated iconic
design, the sportiness, individuality and expanded electric offerings
of the MINI brand have met customer expectations all around the globe.
A growth driver was the largest MINI model in the product portfolio,
the MINI Countryman: with a 32,4 % share of the total MINI volume, it
underlines the brand’s SUV expertise. The Countryman combines typical
MINI driving pleasure with innovative design and high versatility –
ideal for any outdoor challenge. In 2025, 93,305 units were sold
worldwide (+15.2%); the fully electric Countryman achieved a sales
growth of 81.8% compared to 2024.
Sub-brand John Cooper Works reaches record numbers
The sporty John Cooper Works (JCW) sub-brand also set new standards
in 2025: with 25,630 units sold, MINI JCW increased the sales volume
by 59.5% and achieved a new sales record. The share of JCW vehicles
reached 8.9% of the total MINI volume. In some markets, such as UK,
Italy, Japan and Australia, the performance-enhanced MINI models
reached their highest sales figures to date.
The MINI Cooper family
The traditional MINI Cooper family, consisting of the MINI Cooper
3-Door, the MINI Cooper 5-Door and the MINI Convertible, recorded with
162,789 a sales increase of 10.3% compared to the previous year. The
new generation of the MINI Cooper Convertible, only introduced in
2025, rounded off the model family with unique features. With 22,491
units sold, a sales growth of 18.4% was achieved. The MINI Cooper
5-Door impresses with typical brand-specific driving fun, increased
space, and high functionality and recorded with 47,850 units a
significant growth of 26.5% compared to 2024.
2026 starts with the new MINI Paul Smith Edition
Starting in 2026, the MINI Cooper 3-Door, MINI Cooper 5-Door, and
MINI Cooper Convertible – both electric and combustion engine versions
– will be available in the new MINI Paul Smith Edition. This edition
combines the unmistakable style of the British designer Paul Smith
with the playful, optimistic and independent spirit of the MINI brand.
Following the successful collaborations “MINI STRIP” (2021) and “MINI
Recharged by Paul Smith” (2022), Paul Smith now brings his
world-famous design language “Classic with a twist” into the MINI
family once again.
In case of queries, please contact:
Corporate Communications
Julian Kisch, Press Spokesperson, Product Communications
MINI
Phone: +49-151-601-38072
E-mail: julian.kisch@mini.com
Micaela Sandstede, Head of Communications
MINI
Phone: +49-176-601-61611
E-mail: micaela.sandstede@bmw.de
MINI John Cooper Works Convertible (WLTP combined: Energy consumption
7.1l/100km; CO2 emissions 161g/km; CO2 class F)
A new study shows that whether families can reliably meet basic needs, not just how much they earn, may shape infants’ brain development as early as the first year of life.
Study: Income insufficiency impacts early brain…
Hydrogen can play an important role in cutting emissions from industry and the transport and energy sectors. It is especially useful where electrification is difficult, such as for heavy-duty vehicles or in large industrial processes. The European Union supports research, cutting-edge technologies and infrastructure so that renewable hydrogen can become more affordable and widespread.
EU programmes such as Horizon Europe, the Innovation Fund and the Connecting Europe Facility offer funding that help move ideas from the lab to the market and install renewable hydrogen infrastructure across Europe.
The following projects provide a glimpse into how EU funding is benefitting hydrogen facilities in Belgium.
The GIGA-SCALES project is setting up a pioneering industrial-scale plant near Antwerp to manufacture hydrogen membranes a key component of alkaline electrolysers used to produce green hydrogen. Thanks to this support, the production of these membranes can move from pilot scale to large-scale manufacturing, helping to reduce the total cost of hydrogen production. With a capacity equivalent to 20 gigawatts of electrolysers per year, the project is strengthening Europe’s clean-tech industry and supporting the wider roll-out of renewable hydrogen.
The project is funded by the Innovation Fund, with the EU contributing €11 million in funding.
The LIFE NEW HYTS project focuses on producing and using green hydrogen for trucks and heavy machinery. The project installed a 2.5-megawatt electrolyser and will operate hydrogen-powered vehicles to collect real-life performance and emission data. It will also develop a business model for regional hydrogen supply. LIFE NEW HYTS includes replication plans of the pilot in Utrecht for Bruges, helping to bring the lessons learned to Belgium and strengthen local clean transport solutions.
The project is funded by the Life Programme, with the EU contributing €4.6 million in funding.
The HYDRA research project, coordinated by a Belgian organisation, aims to better understand the environmental effects and climate impacts of a large-scale hydrogen economy, including potential leakage along the value chain. The project combines advanced climate modelling with the development of a new detection tool to discover those leakages. This way, it will provide policymakers with reliable information to guide safe and sustainable hydrogen deployment, supporting Europe’s long-term climate objectives.
The project is funded by Horizon Europe Climate, with the EU contributing €3.8 million in funding.
The STARGATE project led by Brussels Airport, works on innovative solutions to reduce emissions in the airport ecosystem. It tests measures related to energy use, digital tools, cleaner fuels and mobility around the airport. Several Belgian partners contribute to this work. While not focused solely on hydrogen, the project supports cleaner ground operations and helps explore how airports can support the wider energy transition.
The project is funded by Horizon Europe Transport, with the EU contributing €3.8 million in funding.
These projects show different but complementary ways on the EU supports the hydrogen transition in Belgium: building infrastructure, scaling up manufacturing, demonstrating regional supply chains, analysing environmental impacts and greening complex transport hubs. EU programmes provide financial support, technical expertise and transnational partnerships that reduce risk, accelerate deployment and help projects benefit citizens and businesses across borders.
Discover more stories in other countries on our website!
Climate-proofing the agriculture, energy and transport sectors would help avoid billions of euros in losses from the accelerating extreme weather events related to climate change. At the same time, it would increase Europe’s competitiveness, according to a briefing published today by the European Environment Agency (EEA).
The three economic sectors are highly vulnerable to climate change, shows the EEA briefing “Making agriculture, energy and transport climate resilient: how much money is required and what will it deliver?”.
As Europe is the fastest-warming continent, the effects of climate change are already here with accelerating extreme weather events such as floods, droughts, heatwaves and wildfires costing Europe EUR 40-50 billion per year.
The investments required range between EUR 53bn and 137bn annually by 2050 and a further EUR 59-173bn annually by 2100 depending on whether the temperature will rise by 1.5°C to 2°C, or by 3°C compared to pre-industrial temperatures. Current committed funding levels are estimated at just EUR 15-16bn per year for these sectors. The funding comes mostly from the public sector, at EU, national and regional level.
To put things into perspective, the EU experienced annual economic losses of around EUR 40-50 bn per year between 2021 and 2024 due to extreme weather events, totalling EUR 822 bn over the period 1980–2024. The costs are increasing, the years between 2021 and 2024 accounting for the biggest annual losses. As those figures account for direct losses only, the sum of total costs will be higher.
Investing in climate adaptation delivers benefits beyond just avoiding losses from extreme events: adapting to rising coastal flood risks in the EU would deliver EUR 6 for every euro invested, according to a study by the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission.
Another study, on a global level, by the World Resources Institute, concluded that every US dollar invested in adaptation may bring over USD 10.50 in benefits over a 10-year period and yield average returns of 27% per project.
When discussing benefits of climate adaptation, two concepts are relevant:
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The case is clear: investing now in making agriculture, energy and transport climate resilient would contribute to Europe’s competitiveness and would help with other challenges, such as food security.
This briefing is part of an ongoing series of EEA products that explore the costs and benefits of climate adaptation. Together, these products provide insight into the economics of climate resilience.
PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has decided to introduce the home solarization scheme for the merged districts of the province.
“Under the scheme, 1,20,000 entitled households will be provided solar systems free of cost or on easy…
