Official Release: MINI USA reported sales of 4,105 automobiles, down 21.2 percent from the 5,211 cars sold in June 2008. Year-to-date, MINI USA also reported sales of 20,885 automobiles, a decrease of 20.9 percent, compared to the 26,400 cars reported after the first six months of 2008.
“This month, we saw consumers coming back into dealerships in some metro areas like Boston, New York and Los Angeles and that’s encouraging,” said Jim McDowell, Vice President of MINI USA. “The positive results in those three areas have helped to decouple MINI somewhat from the industry decline and we continue to outperform the market by a wide margin.”
MINI USA has confirmed its intention to expand its 83-strong American dealer network by 20 percent during the next 18 months to a total of 100 outlets across the country.
Most of the additional 17 MINI dealerships will be located in cities or areas that will be new markets for the brand.
Speaking at a New York City meeting, MINI USA Vice President Jim McDowell revealed: “Starting in 2011, our aim is to raise MINI sales by a ‘double-digit’ percentage compared with last year’s total of 54,077 cars delivered and this will correspond with a substantial expansion of our network coverage. continued →
Official Release: Sales of the MINI brand were 19.1% lower in May than for the same month last year (22,685) at 18,348 units; for the year to the end of May, 79,260 MINI (prev.yr.: 102,364 / -22.6%) vehicles were delivered to customers. In Germany, MINI increased its sales volume by 11.8% (3,569 / prev.yr.: 3,193) in the month under review. The brand made gains in countries such as China (350 / +48.9%), New Zealand (26 / +30,9%), Malaysia (20 / +33,3%) and Switzerland (447 / +0.2%). 25,000 continued →
Official Release: MINI USA reported sales of 4,610 automobiles, down 27 percent from the 6,312 cars sold in May 2008. Year-to-date, MINI USA also reported sales of 16,780 automobiles, a decrease of 20.8 percent, compared to the 21,189 cars reported in May 2008.
“In May, the small car market continued to be soft due to restraint in new car purchases and gas prices that are around 40 percent lower than a year ago,” said Jim McDowell, Vice President of MINI USA. “Nonetheless, once again last month, MINI sales improved over the previous month and we continued to outperform the segment by a wide margin.”
Official Release: MINI USA reported sales of 3,657 automobiles, down 22.4 percent from the 4,713 cars sold in April 2008. Year-to-date, MINI USA also reported sales of 12,170 automobiles, a decrease of 18.2 percent, compared to the 14,877 cars reported in April 2008.
“We’ve seen sales stabilizing month-to-month in our segment in April but this stability has come at the price of greater sales stimulation by everyone,” said Jim McDowell, Vice President MINI USA. “MINI has largely managed to stay away from ‘sweeteners to the deal’ in the past. However, last month we introduced a modest incentive allowing us to track better than our segment year-to-date and continue to improve our sales month-to-month since January.”
This official BMW Group release details not only MINI’s worldwide sales for March for also the BMW Group as a whole: In March the BMW Group’s sales performance was again impacted by the global economic and financial crisis. In the month under review the BMW Group delivered 126,375 (prev.yr.: 152,586 / -17.2%) vehicles worldwide. Ian Robertson, Member of the Board of Management of BMW AG, responsible for Sales and Marketing: “The 17.2% decrease in March was smaller than in previous months. We have seen some encouraging signs in key markets like the United States and Germany. However, it is still too early to talk about a global turnaround.” continued →
MINI USA Financing is offering 1.9% for 36 months on all non convertibles for the month of April. Additionally MINI USA financial is offering 2.9% for 48 months or 3.9% for 60 months on all non-convertibles and 2.9% for 60 months of all JCW hardtop models.
This news should go out soon to all MINI dealers across the US but as always we wanted to bring this news to you as soon as we heard.
Official Release: MINI USA reported sales of 3,605 automobiles, down 15.9 percent from the 4,289 cars sold in March 2008. For the first quarter, MINI USA also reported sales of 8,513 automobiles, a decrease of 16.2 percent, compared to the 10,164 cars reported in March 2008. continued →
We usually save our stories about the overall BMW Group for BimmerFile but since this clearly affects MINI we felt it appropriate.
Official BMW AG Release: The BMW Group’s performance held up well in 2008 despite difficult market conditions. “The BMW Group has been able to make improvements at an operating level in the midst of extremely difficult economic times”, stated Reithofer Norbert, Chairman of the Board of Management of BMW AG, on Thursday in Munich. “Cost structures have been further optimised and, thanks to rigorous management of free cash flow, the BMW Group is in a very solid financial position”, he added. continued →
Official Release: In February sales of the MINI brand were 27.2% lower than the same month last year (15,919 units) at 11,583 units. For the year to the end of February, 21,702 vehicles were sold (prev.yr.: 31,376 / -30.8%). From late March on, the new MINI Convertible will rejoin the model range and give sales a substantial boost over the course of the year. New orders for the new open-topped MINI version already look very promising.
Later today MINI USA will be announcing 2.9% financing on all hardtop models. Here’s the rundown:
2.9% financing up to 36 months all hardtop models except JCW
3.9% financing up to 48 months all hardtop models except JCW
2.9% Financing all hardtop JCW models up to 60 months or 5 years
It’s an incredible deal and the first time MINI has gone this low on any models (let alone the JCW).
MF Analysis: It’s both a sign of the times and a sign that MINI missed the mark with the specifications on the JCW. The fact that they are willing to blow out the JCWs at 2.9% for 60 months is a very obvious admission that something isn’t quite right with the specification vs the price. We expect to see some sort of specification updates to the JCW later this year.
MINI USA Official Release: MINI USA reported sales of 2,826 automobiles, down 17.2 percent from the 3,415 cars sold in February 2008. The drop from last February was driven mainly by the build out phase of the MINI Convertible. The new model will go on sale in the US at the end of March. Year-to-date, the division reported sales of 4,908 automobiles, a decrease of 16.5 percent, compared to the 5,875 cars reported in the first two months of 2008.
“The economy slowed so much in December and January that MINI felt the pain,” said Jim McDowell, Vice-President of MINI USA. “In February however, sales were up 36 percent compared to January ‘09 and we’re now seeing some who had been on the sidelines putting their feet back in the water shopping for cars as evidenced by increasing website traffic and online configurations being sent to dealers.”
MINI USA exec Jim McDowell hasn’t been shy about his optimism for 2009 sales. Here’s the latest piece on the matter from Automotive News:
McDowell’s optimism comes despite a 15.4 percent sales drop in January compared with January 2008.
“People held off not because they can’t afford a Mini. It’s a question of whether this is the right time,” says McDowell. “It is normal for Mini to have a slow winter. January is normally our slowest month.”
The combination of the slow winter months and the current resession have caused MINI USA to offer a discount financing program for the first time in the history of the modern MINI. MINI Financial is offering 4.9% to qualified buyers or a $264 lease for a moderately equipped Cooper. For those of us who have seen MINI sales go up and up over the years this is a moment that we all knew would arrive, we just weren’t sure when. While there have been plenty of dealer and regional offers, to our knowledge this is the first time MINI has rolled out a national discount. continued →
MSN Autos has named the MINI the best new model in terms of value retention. It’s an incredible feat considering the times but according to MSN the MINI retains 67% of it’s value after three years of ownership. Obviously there are some pretty obvious reasons for high resale vs low:
If a car is in low supply and high demand, it will probably retain value, and vice versa. “For example, the high fleet penetration of the Ford Taurus has created a huge supply relative to its demand, driving its price down,” says Fernando Ubeda, manager of custom modeling and analytics for ALG. Generally, cars that depreciate fastest are sold in large numbers at big discounts to rental-car or corporate fleets, like the aforementioned Taurus. Those flood the used-car market when the fleets replace their vehicles.
Another factor that determines value is design. “Cars with a current, bold look, such as the MINI Cooper, are in demand and thus worth more,” Ubeda says.
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Sections: Official News, Sales Jul 1st, 2009 18 Comments 
