MINI Release: The MINI brand made further sales gains in 2008 to achieve a new all-time high. With a total of 232,425 deliveries it grew 4.3% over the previous year. In December the brand reported sales down 27.8% to 15,010 (prev.yr.: 20,800) vehicles. A temporary interruption in the MINI model programme also contributed to this relatively substantial decrease. The MINI Convertible ceased production back in August 2008 – with the new MINI Convertible not scheduled for market launch until late March 2009.

The MINI brand can also look back on a successful year in the United States. In fact, 2008 was the brand’s best year since the premium small car was launched on the U.S. market in 2002 (54,077 vehicles sold/ +28.6%). For the very first time, the U.S. became the largest single market for MINI.