As we’ve reported over the past year, BMW is investing over $200 million dollars to expand the MINI Plant in Oxford for 2006. While this will give MINI further flexibility and scalability, it will also cause some production disruption. In fact MINI is currently planning on entirely shutting down the plant for at least three weeks at the start of the year. Inside Line has some further info about the details of the closure:
>Kay Segler, head of the Mini brand, told Automobilwoche magazine that production would be stopped for about three weeks for construction work at the start of the year, and there could be further work on the Cowley plant’s line during the year as the plant’s capacity is increased to 240,000 units a year starting in 2007.
In other words we may see sales number down and wait times up for 2006. The new additions to the plant should come online in time for the start of the next generation MINI production in late summer/early fall 2006.
You can read the entire Inside Line article here:
[ Plant Construction Could Cause Mini Shortage Next Year ] Inside Line
They were probably not expecting sales to continue to climb this late in the product cycle when the decision was made to shut down the plant. Quite a good problem for an automaker to have!
A little OT but is there any newinfo on the 2007 model? We’ve been talking alot about the GP but some news on R56 would be nice.
Thanks!
ugh….makes me want to order my 06 even sooner. By start of the year, we are all reading this a January, right? Not the start of the 07 production?
-jac
Glad I ordered my wife’s 06 today. Hopefully this doesn’t slow things down for us.
Isn’t it a shame that the crazy sales of the current model won’t be enough to convince BMW/MINI to leave well enough alone and KEEP the model the way it is?
Don’t fix what isn’t broken.
Of course that stupid European pedestrian protection law isn’t helping either.
<blockquote>Of course that stupid European pedestrian protection law isn’t helping either.</blockquote>
No, it isn’t, but stupid European pedestrians need protection. Come to think of it, we could use some of that here…
Derek
<blockquote>They were probably not expecting sales to continue to climb this late in the product cycle when the decision was made to shut down the plant. Quite a good problem for an automaker to have!</blockquote>
An automotive company that has people lining up to pay MSRP and wait 4+ weeks still amazes me. I did it and I have never looked back (althought it still amazes me). To your point, this continuing to be a “problem” even this late in the product cycle….I agree it is A Great Thing!
October year-to-date sales shows the strength of the Mini Brand.
Mini +22%
Some Winners
Bentley +97%
Hummer +87%
Scion +67%
Some Losers
Mitsubishi -26%
Jaguar -34%
Aston Martin -33%
Maybach -22%
Granted that some of the makes have small sales numbers that make their percentages fluctuate more radically (ie Maybach 2005 sales 102 units, 2004 sales 131 units). But you get the idea.
Keep up the good work Mini!!
Darwin’s Law… if you don’t look left and right before crossing the street, maybe the gene pool could use some thinning out!
Sure, it doesn’t help if the driver is going WAY over the speed limit, but I doubt the new Euro regulations will make much difference if the car is going THAT fast to begin with.
personally i think the euro pedestrian law is ridiculous!!! I can’t believe that they even made such a thing…
I agree with edge 100%
lets make cars cost even more money and become less astheitically pleasing at the same time all because of peoples stupidity!
maybe the people who continually get hit by cars should just wear helmets… just a thought…
>
NOOOOOO! Don’t spead that idea. The next amendment to the pedestrian law will be that everyone must wear helmets when they leave their homes.
And I guess there IS a small chance that there is one or two MINI emplyees who walk to work at the assembly plant…
But, if you have to wear a helmet when you walk to work how do you feel the wind in your hair? I’m glad I have one of the current cars. I’ll have to see if the new one is as nice. Either way, I plan on keeping my cooper for long time.
Hey, im one of the few people who are waiting 8+ months for a mini to avoid the high markups in the bay area. I was put on the waiting list mid august with an ETA of about march-april. Do you guys think ill be affected? i really cant wait any longer
The way I read it, it sounds like the MINI plant will be on hiatus between the 2006 and 2007 models in and around August of next year, assuming (and this is a huge assumption) that they start rolling out a new model then like they did for the ’05 to ’06 conversions.
Yeah – the levees in New Orleans weren’t broken either when they estimated it would cost $1B to reinforce them… how much have they spent so far? I believe somewhere around 40 times that amount.
Omar, why not order from one of the reputable dealerships East of the Mississippi? Most of them don’t have a waiting period, and shipping to the Left Coast is only like a grand…
Or, Omar, order from East Bay MINI, as I did. Ordered in July, got my car in November, and paid MSRP. They are a good dealership, you should check them out. Also, I’m willing to bet the wait time is much less now than it was when I bought my car.
mandatory helmets on pedestrians! Ohh my goodness that would be hilarous… think of what fashion shows would be like! HA!!!
I actually did order from east bay mini, but will the wait be even longer with construction on the mini plant?
Surely shortages mean increasing residual values for owners? What is the used car market like in USA?
It seems to us offshore that because of the distances involved between dealers, you are being held for ransom by the local dealer.
Here in New Zealand (population 4 million) we have only four dealers in the four main biggest cities. The biggest, Auckland (1.2 million), has only one dealer. Some owners have to drive 3 hours to get to a dealer. And you cannot buy from the next closest dealer because of out-of-territory restrictions.
I am sure this is the same in USA.
A recent GB TV show Top Gear said that the biggest selling car in the world was the Ford F100 pickup truck (not really a car), something like 4 million sold annually, and just about all of them are sold in USA.
> lets make cars cost even more money and become less astheitically pleasing at the same time all because of peoples stupidity!
It’s just payback time for when you guys screwed up the look of cars like the MG B and Fiat Spider with regulations regarding height and size of bumpers >:)
if you wish to wait for your mini, order it. if not search the various dealers. i bought mine off the lot i baton rouge, la.. i was considering driving to dealers thoughout the country to get mine to save the hassle and anxiety of waiting. consider this as well driving your mini home away from a dealer away from you local digs can shorten the breakin period.
as to the shutdown affecting production, i am all for it. i have worked through partial shutdowns and seen a diminished product. shut the plant down, retool everything and get it right and get back to work. furthermore, the workers will be fresh from a holiday.
Is the color WAY off on the pic, or is that a silk green convertable and a candy blue convertable rolling down the assembly line?
“Aaron Nov 9th, 2005 Link
Is the color WAY off on the pic, or is that a silk green convertable and a candy blue convertable rolling down the assembly line?”
I believe this is a stock pic that has been seen/used before and the explination was the lighting in the rrom of the pic made the colors look off.