Feb 13th, 2015
What was just a whisper a couple of months ago, is now a reality. Today MINI is announcing the impending end of production for the R58 Coupe and R59 Roadster. As you may remember, MotoringFile is quite fond of the Twins, to the point that we awarded the Roadster the title of best commuter car ever. Since we don’t know if they will ever be replaced, it is with mixed feelings that we see these two go. On the other hand and given how much love they have received from enthusiasts, it would not surprise us if they turned into sought-out collectors’ items in the near future. On a more positive note, if the Superleggera ever hits production, it would surely make for a worthy replacement. Godspeed, Coupe and Roadster.
Official Release: Changeover at MINI Plant Oxford: while worldwide demand for the new MINI 3 door and the new MINI 5 door launched a few months ago increases continuously, production of two model variants from the preceding generation of the original in the premium small car segment is about to come to an end. continued →
Feb 10th, 2015
Official Release: Following on from a record-breaking 2014, where the BMW Group delivered more than two million vehicles, 2015 has got off to a good start with sales up 7.0% compared with the same month last year. A total of 142,154 BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce vehicles were delivered to customers in January, a new high for the month (prev. yr. 132,906).
Overall sales of MINI brand vehicles were also higher than ever before in January, with the brand achieving double-digit growth of 12.0% compared with the same period last year (17,373 / prev. yr. 15.510). continued →
Feb 3rd, 2015
The first sales figures of the year are in! The result is good but don’t get carried away by the headline above. With 2,543 vehicles sold during the same period last year, January 2014 was MINI USA’s lowest sales volume since 2010, which puts in perspective the 26.9% difference with January 2015. When looking back at previous years, January 2015 is only 454 cars shy from matching MINI USA’s best start ever and that was back in 2013. I guess that sticker issue didn’t help. Click through for the full model break-down. continued →
Jan 27th, 2015
Management changes are not only happening at the Global level but also across subsidiaries. Last week, MINI USA named Mark Orlando as Department Head of Sales. He will replace Sadir Haji who has been given to role of Head for Regional Sales & Marketing in the Eastern Region. For 2015, one of MINI USA’s goal is a strong push on sales and adverstising at the national and local levels, and these nominations appear to be in line with David Duncan’s strategy. Read the full press release after the break. continued →
Jan 27th, 2015
Back in November, we outlined MINI USA’s 2015 strategy in regards to Customer Experience and Dealer Profitability. A report from Automotive News indicates that MINI reiterated its commitment to dealers during the 2015 NADA Convention in San Francisco last week. continued →
Jan 11th, 2015
The title speaks for itself. With more than two million vehicles sold worldwide across its portfolio of brands, the BMW Group sets a new record in 2014. BMW’s achievement is reinforced by the fact that Mercedes-Benz, Audi and Porsche have all hit sales records last year. While 2014 was a bumpy year for MINI, the brand only saw a 1% decrease in sales compare to last year (302,183 vs. 305,030), but it appears to be on course to set a new sales record for 2015. Here is a summary of BMW’s press release:
- Record worldwide sales: up 7.9% with a total of 2,117,965 deliveries
- Best ever year for BMW, BMW Motorrad and Rolls-Royce
- MINI sales up 20.7% in December – a new record for the month
- BMW i sales around 17,800
Full details after the break. continued →
Jan 6th, 2015
I guess 2015 couldn’t start with just good news. Sunday the BBC reported that a car transporter ship was grounded in the Solent deliberately after it began to list. According to the news channel:
The Hoegh Osaka was run aground off the Isle of Wight on Saturday evening after developing problems once it had left Southampton, Ingar Skiaker, chief executive of Hoegh Autoliners said. The ship is now listing at more than 50 degrees and a salvage operation is expected to take several days. However, no oil is thought to have leaked from the ship.
Those of you familiar with the BMW/MINI delivery process know that Hoegh Autoliners is one of the shipping companies used to transport cars across the Pond. And from what we gather, it appears that 65 MINIs were on board at the time of the incident. While this is quite unfortunate, it is a relatively low number compare to the 1,200 vehicles Jaguar/Land Rover lost in the process. Although Oxford will probably shift production priorities to make up for the lost cars, US customers shouldn’t be directly affected by the incident as the ship’s original destination was Germany and the Middle-East. continued →
