This news from Expatica.com:

“MUNICH – German carmaker BMW said it remained on a record- setting course with a slight 0.2 percent rise in six-month car sales to 544,850, all thanks to its British-built Mini.

The six-month figure came after sales of BMW and Mini cars totalling 96,970 in June, up 2.7 percent from June 2002.

The company noted that of the first-half total, BMW brand cars accounted for 454,970 of the sales – down 5.5 percent from the same period in 2002. This meant that the sales of the Mini were what kept overall sales slightly ahead of last year's pace. “

Looking at BMW's sales figured over the last year it's obvious to see how important the MINI has been in terms of sales growth both in the USA and other world markets. Without it BMW would simply not have these positive numbers.