Worldwide MINI Sales Up for May

Sections: Official News | Sales Jun 8th, 2005 35 Comments

More May sales numbers from MINI (from MINI Press):

The MINI brand worldwide is convincingly continuing its sustained growth course. In May, the increase in sales was 14.2% to 17,511 automobiles (previous year: 15,327), and for the period ending May, the figure is plus 11.7% to 88,459 (previous year: 79,197). Michael Ganal: “No other small car is so successful worldwide as the MINI and no other can demonstrate such sustained sales growth over its model cycle.” With 20,721 cars sold, almost a quarter of sales volume was accounted for by the convertible version in the first five months of 2005. In May, the convertible actually accounts for a third of sales, with 4,449 open-top MINI sold.

Here’s some further information on worldwide sales of the BMW Group:

BMW Group sales rose in May by 7.5% compared with the same month last year to 113,626 automobiles (previous year: 105,681). For the period up to and including May, the number of BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce vehicles delivered to customers rose by 8.4% to 517,184 (previous year: 477,098). This means that the company has broken the 500,000 vehicle barrier as early as May for the first time in its history.

In terms of sales volume, the rankings of the top three markets for the period to the end of May were as follows: Germany comes in first place, with sales of 121,040 automobiles (previous year: 111,595/+8.5%), closely followed by the USA, with 117,844 vehicles sold (previous year: 115,737/+1.8%). In third place comes the UK, where the number of cars delivered rose by 6.1% to 62,494 (previous year: 58,905). The highest absolute growth rate in Western Europe was recorded by Portugal with an increase of 47.8% to 3,617 (previous year: 2,447). Amongst the volume markets, Spain grew particularly dynamically, increasing by 23.3% to 22,713 automobiles (previous year: 18,425). In the American markets, Argentina, with plus 56.0% growth, is the front-runner (599/ previous year: 384); in Asia, this position is taken by Malaysia with plus 42.9% (1,405/ previous year: 983).

The BMW brand increased sales in May by 6.4% to 96,061 units (previous year: 90,290). For the months up to and including May, the increase is 7.8% to 428,489 BMW automobiles (previous year: 397,631). Dr. Michael Ganal, Member of the Board of Management of BMW AG responsible for Sales and Marketing: “With these figures, we are ahead of our relevant competitors in the first five months. This applies for absolute and percentage growth and for overall volume.”

All the model series have played a part in this development. The new models have been launched very successfully in the markets. For example, 40,834 of the new BMW 3 Series saloon, which is now available in the American markets and in Asia and thus worldwide have been sold since the market launch at the beginning of March. The popularity in the market of the BMW 1 Series proves that the entry into the compact class has succeeded with this premium product: in the first five months of 2005, 60,746 vehicles have already been sold.

Written By: MF Staff

http://homepage.mac.com/merlinotony/miniweb/ Tony

I’m very happy to say that I was one of the contributing factors towards this – picked up my MINI on 5/29 :)
http://bravo5.org/blog blalor

And I on 5/20! It’s been fun, but it’s currently in the shop with 1290 miles on it. Sudden and severe power loss when it hits 4000 RPM, and it then requires a rolling “reboot” to keep going.

I posted a rambling writeup of my first 19 days of MINI ownership on my weblog, and I’ll post updates as they come.

They better get this sorted by the weekend; Phil Wicks has already cashed my check for his Mini Driving school on Saturday.
Kurt

Is it just me or do the reports month after month showing increase in sales just start to numb us into just expecting it… I know its good facts to share, but its like the same “oos” and “awws” every month… they’ll have to break 50% increase in some month for me to actually be impressed/surprised now…
JimOhio

here we go again.

not more of the “sell more, sell more” mentaliaty, diluting the value of the MINI marquee.

i made my points very clear in a previous thread.
F.R Walter

Yes, JimOhio, here we go again.

You fail to realize who owns MINI. The only thing that would dilute the value of the MINI marquee is if Ford, GMC, Toyota, Volkswagon or any other company owned it. IÃ¢â‚¬â„¢m not saying BMW is perfect, IÃ¢â‚¬â„¢m saying they know what there doing and they donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t build crap!

What makes other cars “diluted marquees” is not the number of units sold. ItÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s that they build boring, dull, crap.
JimOhio

i hope we can be civil in this conversation…

as a child growing up… i remember how rare it was to see a mercedes or a jaguar or a bmw.. those cars simply were not seen often in most american towns.

in the last few weeks, i have never seen so many jaguars.. i am sure i have seen as many or more mercedes or bmw’s but the front end of the jaguar, especially that one with the kia amanti type front end (i know kia ripped off jaguar but that is the easiest way i can explain it).. i have never seen so many of those jags with the amanti front end this last few weeks..

when that jag first came out, it was a real head turner.. even the low priced jag was new and a head turner.. it is pretty well accepted that low priced jag is not that good of a car but the jag (amanti front end) i believe is seen as an upper end car.. for the sake of discussion.. let’s assume it is a very good car… well even though it may be a very good car, there are so many now that jag (amanti front end one)will hardly get noticed or thought of in that realm of “cool, unique, different, cutting edge”.. the buzz of that jag/amanti is simply gone.

there is still some buzz surrounding minis.. i notice the buzz is diminishing quite a bit though.. i see it in mini cooper message boards.. i see it in mini clubs having less and less outings.. i see it in mini reviews..

it is easy for people with no marketing or business knowledge to call me names like elitist of snobbery.. their lack of education and business knowledge is clear. this concept of losing a brand’s cache can be seen in so many items, not just cars.. but it is clear there are many brands of cars that once stood far ahead of regular cars but now they blend right in.. bmw, jag, mercedes or some..
F.R Walter

OK, let’s get out of cars for a moment……it’s people with marketing and business knowledge who have driven Maytag to the brink of bankruptcy. “Marketing profesionals” have marketed Maytag into the dumpster. Whirlpool is “flying high”, they use marketing as a tool, not an “end all”. The product comes first.

BMW is a product first company. Jaguar is just a marketing arm of Ford. And I can not “assume it is a very good car” it was not and is not a very good car.

The clasic Mini was an economy car for the masses.

Let all the people Motor.

The MINI is an economy car according to BMW.

Let all the people Motor
http://bravo5.org/blog blalor

Oh, fer cryin’ out loud. Gabe, can’t you ban this troll?
http://motoringfile.com Gabe

Don’t worry Blahor… just a couple of posts like this and it’ll happen.
Eric

Jim, come to Detroit where 60% of the cars on the road are Big Three and the other 35% are Japanese. BMW & Mercedes are rare indeed! ;-)
David

JimOhio,

Do you not realize that the MINI is priced affordably? 17K for the MC, 21K for the MCS. What could possibly make you think that BMW’s intention was to allow only people with good teeth who don’t wear jeans and don’t need financing (YOUR examples) to buy one? Or to remain a small exclusive club? MINI wouldn’t be expanding the plant if that was their intention.

The only reason people call you elitist and a snob is because you are representing yourself that way. Trust me, no one’s putting words in your mouth. No one has to.

If we don’t hold to your values, then we are not worthy of a MINI. That IS the summary of what you say.
David

Jim,

I think it’s peculiar that you ask for civility when you don’t think twice about using stereotypes (per a previous article) to deem who is and isn’t worthy of MINI ownership.
JimOhio

i laid out sound principals for keeping the MINI marquee strong.. and i am labeled a nazi..

it is so absurd it does not deserve commenting on..

when people cannot discuss facts, they resort to name calling often.
Eric

Jim, you obviously don’t understand your countrymen very well if you think Americans will buy the MINI in such numbers as to make it as common as apples in an orchard or understand it so well as to think it a perfectly logical vehicle.

Because neither of those two things will ever occur in this country, the MINI will ALWAYS be “elite” here, sales numbers increasing or not.

How come you never talk about this at all?
David

Sound principles, Jim?

In essence, you propose to allow only those that come from a particular socio-economic background to buy MINIs. Is that “sound” to you?

What if something drastic happens and you get knocked down 2 or 3 tax brackets, will you then sell your MINIs, filled with shame at your plight?

You have yet to acknowledge and comment on the fact the the original Mini was made affordable for everyone. It was a huge hit in Europe and elsewhere and sold like hotcakes. Is it because the original Mini did not sell so well in the states, that you think it deserves some “prestige” status? Simply because you never saw many on the road?

Why would BMW want to change the focus of the new MINI now? You are deluding yourself to think that BMW owes you this, or that it was the plan all along.

You seem to choose to ignore the facts (above or posted elsewhere). Acknowledge the facts, and that will lead to better understanding.

Now, should you choose to respond to this post, please respond to its contents instead of attempting to divine my intentions.
David

JimOhio, making yourself out to be some kind of martyr does you way too much justice.

Also, I don’t recall seeing anyone calling you a Nazi or comparing you to one, so please don’t put words in other people’s mouths, okay?
Mark Milliron

The sales figures speak for themselves. The people have voted with their wallets for more Minis and BMWs. While more Minis and BMWs on the road may reduce the “exclusivity” of the brand, it will not destroy the value of the brand.

Exclusivity isn’t necessarily a good thing. I saw a Maybach the other day, one word: yuck. I’d much rather see a truckload of Minis.

The only thing that will significantly hurt the MINI brand will be any watering down or cheapening of the product.

I wish the US automakers would learn the lesson that there are 3 things you must focus on: Product, Product, Product.
Mark Pierce

I refuse to believe that JimOhio is being serious.

Whoever you are, can you just admit this has all been a big, not very funny, joke.
F.R Walter

My last two cents (and its easy math)

Great Product = Strong Brand (marquee)

Lots of Product Sold = Strong Company

If you donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t have both you will some day be in the dumbster

Now let’s all chant Let all the people Motor Let all the people Motor Let all the people Motor
JimOhio

the message on this thread calling me a nazi has been rightfully removed.

let’s try and focus this on volume. look at the corvette for a second. i go to a lot of car shows.. i take my austin mini there..

my austin cost maybe $500.00 brand new.. years ago

restored it is worth say $12,000

but anyway.. at these shows, there are many corvettes there.. worth maybe $25,000 – $50,000

what car do people flock to? what car do people line up to see?

surely not the vette. no matter how good some think the vette is (which i am not one of)

few weeks ago.. car show new ford gt comes in.. driver parks.

makes a bee line to my austin to ask me about it.

the marquee and buzz surrouning the original mini has nothing to do with car magazine reviews, car and driver reports, consumer reports studies..

in fact many of those reports would have many negative comments about the original mini.. i love the austin mini but i did not buy it because of road test results.. i bought it because it is cool.. like the sorry vette owners thought they were buying a cool car..

to see the disappointment on the vette owners face when their vette is not even noticed at a car show.. and to think a tiny austin mini, kind of a silly car of course, is the crowd favorite.. if there were dozens of austin minis there, that would be the case..

is the austin mini different with dozens of other minis there?

not technically.. but it is viewed much differntly.. look at the new beattle.. bash it all you want.. this is not an efffort to trumpet the new beattle.. what happened when it came out? huge buzz… think many car shows/car cruises would let a new beattle in today? when they first came out.. the new beattle would be front and center at the car cruise.. today.. unless modified quite a bit.. the new beattle would be asked to park with the chevy luminas and ford countours.

the austin mini is waved in and given a warm welcome… why? it is a cool car what if a dozen austins showed up is the car as cool? no way.. it still as a single car is cool but part of being cool is not being one of many.

diluting the car show with austin minis make them less cool.

diluting the market with MINIS does not change the MINI.. it makes it less cool.

this is so basic it is scary to think there are MINI owners that do not understand this.. it is like they are unable to process basic supply and demand facts and comrehend the most basic information about product buzz. that is troubling
http://motoringfile.com Gabe

Jim – I think it’s humorous that you don’t think some of us understand what your trying to say. See, the thing is, we don’t care. Many of us are comfortable enough with ourselves and our personal choices enough that having something “cool” or “rare” doesn’t even enter into the buying equation.
Mark Pierce

I quite agree Jim (never thought I’d say that) more MINIs about will probably make it less cool, but as you say it won’t change the MINI, which is all that matters to me as I love it for what it is not for what people think of it.

It’s people like you who buy a MINI because you think it is cool, not for what it is, that dilutes the brand!
David

Okay Jim,

Sounds like you’re afraid of not being “cool.” I suppose you aren’t part of any Mini club, either, because you would no longer be “cool” once you arrive to a function (your logic). It also sounds like you are one of the very few out there with this concern.

MINI was not meant to be Ferrari or TVR or any other low volume, high dollar, exclusive nameplate. MINI was meant to be marketed and sold worldwide, and rightfully to be expanded upon. Marketing is to show off your product and to get it sold. BMW does an excellent job at this. This is so basic it is scary to think there are MINI owners that do not understand this. it is like they are unable to process basic supply and demand facts and comprehend the most basic information about product buzz. That is very troubling.

Also, you STILL refuse to acknowledge the millions of original Minis sold worldwide. Take off the blinders. Your car is attractive to people because there are only so many left. NOT because it was part of a low-volume job in the first place. The same can be said for any other out-of-production car. So your thinking on Mini’s exclusivity is severely flawed.

You seem to want the exclusivity both ways, from low-volume to few survivors, and it isn’t going to happen in this case.

Who knows, maybe the revived MINI will follow the same path: 1. Worldwide acclaim 2. MILLIONS fly off the lots 3. When production (eventually) ends cars become sought after collectibles.

You’ve made it painfully obvious that you refuse to acknowledge anything anyone’s telling you. Good luck in your life.
JimOhio

Thank you!

thanks for admitting more volume dilutes the MINI marquee.. sure, we can still love the MINI for many traits in spite of that marquee dilution.. but the coolness factor will diminish further as volume grows more… that does not change the MINI.. it does change the uniqueness of it though.

and i do appreciate your comment gabe how you realize the dilution factor and don’t care (meaning do not mind that fact and still will buy a MINI)

on past post.. i meant to say if the car show had many austin minis and austin minis were common, the buzz would be gone and hardly noticed, if at all. that is indeed the case with to various degrees with corvettes, pt cruisers, the new beattle, chrysler crossfires, jags, audi TT’s, etc.. and soon will be gone with the dodge magnums and then we will see a big spike in interest in cars like pontiac soltice and then a big yawn after a while with even that car, as volume makes the car less cool.. it is not true that a marquee will hold up, in spite of volume if the product is of good quality..you can have a good quality product and still have brand watered down.
JimOhio

oh yeah.. i am in a MINI club.. club used to have regular rallies and a big buzz was in the club..

i cannot remember the last time there was an official rally.. some clubs have even shut down…

has the MINI changed last few years? not dramatically.

what has changed is there are more MINIS out on the road..

MINI needs more owners like me.. not less of them.. (note i said more owners like me,, not more owners in general)
JimOhio

i think of so many good points as you see.. often i remember them after i post..

re: the original mini.. i was accused of not understanding how it was a high volume car.. ummmmm, not in the usa.. if one were to go to england.. one would not see a big buzz surrounding austin minis…

in usa.. hugeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee buzz. huge, gigantic.

the austin mini was sold in minute numbers here. i am talking about the usa.. i understand the web is not limited to the usa but my comments regarding the austin were related to that fact.. so the austin was not a high volume car in usa.. it was sold in very very small numbers.

very small sales to begin with.. even less of course around today.
David

Jim,

Your evidence on the Mini buzz is anecdotal, highly subjective and therefore not worth much. I can’t agree in saying that there is a huuuuuuuge buzz for the original Mini, as a sense of that differs depending on with whom you talk.

In the car-culture community, the “buzz” is always higher than in the general public. Also, there are a lot of MINI meets where original Minis abound. Do you think their owners get a little more P.O.’d when they see another original roll into the lot? No, they welcome them with open arms, not shun them for taking away some of their “coolness”.

You’ve got to decide: feed the buzz and let others join in, or hoard it all for yourself. You can’t have both.
David

One more thing, there never was a dilution to the Mini marque, it was meant to be mass-produced in the first place. History will repeat itself this time around. Nothing more.
http://motoringfile.com Gabe

thanks for admitting more volume dilutes the MINI marquee

I never said that. I said I understand what you’re trying to say with your argument. I don’t think anyone here didn’t understand your argument from your first post. But that said, I don’t agree with the statement above because I don’t agree with you on what the word dilute means in this case. To me, having a few more thousand MINIs on the road out of the millions of cars sold every year means the brand healthy and alive. It’s relevant and actually means something in todays marketplace and culture. If the brand stopped producing cars it would likely turn into something that is inconsequential and may eventually die altogether.

MINI will succeed by keeping it’s brand values intact and slowly bringing more people into it’s core culture. By doing that MINI is growing the brand and creating a successful car that will have an impact on our culture (and the marketplace) long after your Austin is returned to this earth.
Lemurmania

Don’t ban JimOhio — he’s barely gotten started. Once he goes in about people with bad teeth, how jeans indicate drug use, and all of his other stuff, well, he’s got a huge amount of entertainment value.

Can’t we all get along and agree to enjoy a troll?
Nate

I find it curious that Jim can make statements about “people with bad teeth, how jeans indicate drug use, and all of his other stuff,” and his comments are not removed. Are they not inflamatory as well!?! Just because he tries to word things like a “Boston lawyer” does not make him right. There seems to be a double standard on this web site. Don’t worry people, you won’t find anymore comments from me.

Signed, A sad Motorer
Lemurmania
Nate,

You’re quoting me paraphrasing JimOhio. Please, I’m not doing the man justice. Here’s some Greatest Hits from our friend in the Suburb State Formerly Known as Ohio:

there should be a test before a MINI is sold. they should only be sold to certain people.

[snip]

MINI should only sell MINIS to the following

people with good teeth no acne scar never lived in a trailer do not wear jeans (sign of drug use) parents not divorced not divorced themselves

[snip]

i know you will not like the truth.. not my fault you have bad dental hygiene and want to see MINIS on ever corner..

smart people practice good dental hygiene..

[snip]

oh yeah… if you have to finance your MINI purchase, you would not qualify to own a MINI…

i had good parents.. they taught me to save.. to work hard. not to squander my money on beer, WWE/fka WWF pay per views, tattoos, drugs…

people should not take a loan out for a car.. it is better they not squander their money, save up and pay cash..

and a MINI owner cannot have tattoos..

ever watch the show cops?

almost all of the those dirt bags have what in common?

well i will tell you
1. bad teeth
2. wear jeans (i never saw one in neatly pressed khacki slacks and a cotton button down collar shirt)
3. no shirt of t shirt
4. bad language
5. smokes
6. lives in a messy house/trailer
so that is one more test for MINI owners.. no tattoos..

Come on, what’s not to like about this? Can’t we all appreciate the sheer comedic potential? JimOhio’s posts remind me of the sort of overheated rhetoric one normally associates with realultimatepower.net, but with a slightly stronger chance that he’s serious.

If JimOhio isn’t for real, he’s a comedic genius. If he’s being honest and telling it like he sees it, well, then he’s an unintentional comic genius.
David

At first I thought Jim was just another troll, but now, I’m not so sure. His lackluster attempts to back up his arguments seem desperate at best, but they also seem genuine (which is the scary part).

Jim has an interesting modus operandi. He reminds me of someone I knew from college. This guy would choose pieces of his arguments that had a slim chance of holding water, and completely abandon the pieces that already sank, as if those issues were never raised. In the end, he would claim victory if he was right on even a minute detail, as his narcissism would not allow for the possibility of being wrong. At times, I also thought he was playing a role, but, no, he stood by every word. I see similar behavior in what Jim chooses to address and to ignore.

He doesn’t address the responses to the important topics that he brings up, such as his “final solution” to curb the spread of MINIs to the “unworthy”. His own posts tell us that he wants MINIs for a select type of person: those just like him, and no one else. Views like that reek of elitism, but he wraps them under the guise of “sound principles”, playing the victim at the same time. I have yet to see anything from Jim attempting to prove the soundness of his principles in that regard. He does have perseverence, though, and sticks by his story, kind of like Baghdad Bob when Iraq fell.

He’s good at addressing a sentence or two of someone’s responses to his claims, but not the parts that actually matter. He addressed my earlier sentence about being called a Nazi, but the rest of my post went unheard, as he chose to pick the argument with the path of least resistance.

Let’s not forget about how he puts words into people’s mouths. He does that with utter disregard for what people actually post.

These are simply my observations based on Jim’s own actions. In the end, one can’t reason with the unreasonable, so it’s probably an exercise in futility on my part. I must take a small part of the blame, however, for feeding into his posts. It seems I can get myself involved in much ado about nothing with a couple slow days at work!
JimOhio

hi..like to follow up with a comment if i could regarding car shows/cruises..

first the comments about jeans/teeth/trailer.. you know some of the best humor has truth interwoven within it.. so there is truth and humor/wittiness all wrapped together on that thread..

but to another issue: and my main point about marquee dilution:

when the MINI first came out.. the MINI was the hit of the car cruise scene.. all kinds of people flocked to it.. young, old, biker type, professionals, mechanics, people in jeans, everyone loved the MINI almost…

when i got an austin mini, i would sometimes meet a friend with a MINI and we would meet up there and park next to each other..

MINIS have been seen by many people on the road in public here and there over last few years and i can tell you.. with no question at these car shows, the austin gets the excitement.. the buzz, the swarm of people.. the MINI gets a few looks still but MINIS are generally not welcome in general car cruises unless something modified to a certain degree..

i am talking about general car cruises.. not a british car show or a british cruise.. a general car cruise.. when the MINI first came out, it was waved right in.. now.. a MINI, depending on car cruise organizer may or may not want MINIS there.

i guarantee you this.. the austin will never be turned away at these shows.. never.. it is not even a decision that has to be made or thought about by the cruise organizer.. i have more people swarm over my austin than almost any other car at these cruises. more than vettes, more than old mustangs, more than classic fords, more than any car almost.. almost any car.. i hope i am making myself clear.. the austin mini, is lke NO other car, period.. that buzz is phenominal.

some “Car guys” may not “Get” the austin mini… the general public sees the austin, their face lights up, beams, and have to see it.. the MINI did that for a couple years.. i still like my MINI but the MINI does not do that anymore.. this does not make the MINI less of a car.. well making more of the MINIS did this. not to the car itself but to it’s position in society..

now i know some MINI owners do not care or mind this aspect of the MINI ownership being watered down.. i happened to enjoy that aspect of the MINI,, the uniqueness of it.. you may see the MINI losing it’s uniqueness and are OK with it..that is ok.

the austin mini is virtually guaranteed to have that uniqueness at general car cruises/shows and general motoring. that cannot be said for the MINI.. and again,, i understand that many are ok with that..

selling more and more MINIS, and having MINI sales SOARRRRRRRRRRRR will have the MINI, enjoyed by more, and seen by almost all. you may be ok with that.

i would rather the MINI be like the Mini in some regards, the hit of the show.
JimOhio

pretend this is on my last post.. so the chain of thought is not broken….

i know for a fact there are MINI owners do not like to see austins show up at car shows.. they may not say that.. but i know it is true.

i mean there are mixed feelings about it.. there are reasons they like to see the austins arrive but they steal the thunder from the MINIS..

not all MINI owners have that view though.. just the most informed and best MINI owners that want the MINI marquee preserved have this view.

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