The car company changed its rim name because of the corona virus

The Mini brand renamed the rim design on the Cooper SE electric model from "Corona Spoke" to "Power Spoke" due to the same virus name that caused Covid-19.

Mini's actions show the diverse impact of the epidemic on the world automobile industry. Not only did factories close, car sales fell, but now a company has to change its product name to avoid unnecessary risks.

The asymmetrical rim on the Cooper SE is optional and originally named "Corona Spoke". Photo: Mini

The high-end option of the Cooper SE model was named Corona Spoke long before the outbreak. The change was made just a month after Mini delivered Cooper SE to US customers.

Earlier, the incident was written by Tom Moloughney of Inside EVs in tweets posted on April 20, and tagged with the name of the British car brand. The Mini immediately responded and quickly took action.

"Although the name of the rim design was placed before the outbreak, we made sure that all marketing and communications strategies to customers were updated and correctly reflected the new design name. That is simply the right thing to do ".

Cooper SE with conventional symmetrical rims. Photo: Mini

The optional Power Spoke rim design is quite special with an asymmetrical pattern, which is a characteristic of the Cooper SE electric car compared to the combustion engine versions. It uses the same type of electric motor as the BMW i3S, with a capacity of 181 hp and 270 Nm of torque, running a distance of 270 km on a full charge. In Thailand, the car costs $ 70,900, while in the US the suggested price is $ 31,000.