MINI Still Selling Well in the Land of Trucks
Jul 19th, 2004
An excerpt from a story in the Dallas Morning News:
Two years after Texas finally got some Mini Cooper dealerships, the still-hip little sedans are selling well in a region known mainly for big trucks.
Andrew Cutler, Mini communications manager, declined to provide sales information for Texas, saying that the company does not break out the data by state. But, he said, Texas is helping maintain the company's surprisingly strong sales.
“We have found the Mini to be very hot in California and New York and Florida,” Mr. Cutler said. “There's also a hotbed of interest in the Minis in Texas.”
That may come as a surprise to some inside Mini – though no one will publicly admit it. When BMW launched the Mini Cooper in 2002, the German company said it would focus on the “smile” portion of the United States – a market that begins on the West Coast, stretches down through the Southwest and Southeast and up the East Coast.
With its huge new-vehicle market, Texas was supposed to be a big tooth in the smile. But for reasons that still aren't clear, BMW failed to submit all of the information required by the state of Texas and was initially denied a sales license for the Mini, leaving a gap instead.
At the time, state officials characterized the lapse as unusual. BMW declined to offer an explanation, saying only that the situation would be resolved.
It was resolved – six months later – and franchises were awarded to John Roberts BMW of Dallas and Moritz BMW of Arlington. The company also granted Mini franchises to BMW dealerships in Houston and San Antonio.
You can read the entire article here
RB Jul 19th, 2004 Link
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