MINI USA Posts Best July Sales Ever
Official Release: MINI USA reported the best July ever with sales of 5,950 automobiles, an increase of 1.6 percent from the 5,855 sold in the same month a year ago. Year-to-date, MINI sales in the U.S. are up 1.0 percent on volume of 38,306 compared to 37,914 in the first seven months of 2012.
“We like to say the world is becoming more MINI and the record sales figures for July and year-to-date prove that interest in the premium small car segment continues to grow and that people can think small”, said Jim McDowell, Vice President, MINI USA. “We are especially pleased with the sales performance of the MINI Countryman model that continues to bring new motorers to our growing MINI family.”
MINI Pre-Owned Vehicles
In July, MINI used automobiles (including MINI NEXT certified pre-owned and pre-owned) reported the best month ever with sales of 1,974 automobiles, an increase of 28.9 percent from the 1,531 sold in July, 2012. January through July, MINI used vehicle sales are up 20.1 percent on volume of 12,298 compared to 10,241 in the same period of 2012.
<p>Glad to see the pickup in Roadster sales. I never cared that much for the Coupe but would love to switch into a Roadster in a year or so. And obviously want the car to stick around Lon enough for me to do so. ;-)</p>
<p>Interesting to note X1and Countryman are doing well along with BMW 3 series. I would be interested in seeing a breakdown of 3 Series to see it 320 is selling. The Mercedes CLA is lurking and ready to pounce in the fall. Even though sales of MINI vehicles are doing well none of the newest variants are doing all that well including the Paceman.</p>
<p>So far, I have only seen 1 320i sedan on the road. The vast majority of F30s here in Miami are 328i’s with just a few 335i’s here and there. I don’t think the 320i is being promoted heavely or simply the 328i is a much better leasing propostion.</p>
<p>Last year, BMW board member, Ian Robertson, publicly announced that BMW was planning to build up to 23 models on the new UKL1 platform, and that 11 of those would be MINIs. It has now emerged that the board has throttled back to just 15 models, to include 7 new MINIs, 6 of which have already been signed off as follows:</p>
<p>F56 3dr hatch Nov 2013
F55 5dr hatch Sep 2014
F57 2dr Convertible early 2015
F54 6dr Clubman late 2015
F60 5dr Countryman early 2016
F61 3/5 dr Paceman late 2016</p>
<p>By all accounts, the planned 4dr saloon (sedan) has not been given a green light, nor have replacements for the current Coupe/Roadster. The MINI MPV F58 Traveller, however, is still under serious consideration for 2017. A board member has revealed that BMW accepts that MINI is still a ‘young’ brand that needs time to develop, and it does not want to rush too many new variants onto the market too quickly.</p>
<p>Most interesting to me is the 5 door hatch. I hope it can sustain MINI in a crowded market. The Fiat 500L has been panned in most reviews, but looks good. I have owned to R56 and now a Countryman, but find $$$ creep beginning to affect my decisions for future purchases.</p>
<p>I too have previously owned two R55 Cooper Clubman’s and a Countryman Cooper. I enjoyed the R55’s so much that I decided to place an order for an R55 ‘S’ auto, but foolishly allowed myself to be persuaded by the sales manager to order an R60 Cooper for the same money, on the grounds that it would hold its value better, but if I could turn the clock back, I would have bought the R55 ‘S’ auto.</p>
<p>I am looking forward to the 5dr F55. BMW expect it to be the biggest selling MINI of all time, and it’s easy to see why. 5dr hatchbacks are huge sellers in Europe, so much so that Renault did not even bother to make a 3dr version of its new Clio. In Asia too, 5 doors are preferred to 3. Sales of the Countryman are bound to be affected though.</p>
<p>The really bad news for the Countryman, however, is that JLR (Jaguar Land Rover) is developing an SUV even smaller than the Evoque which will be equipped with all the off-road abilities Land Rovers have become famous for. Ouch!</p>
<p>Wow. That’s terrible sales advice. While I can’t condone the auto, the Cooper S Clubby is a hell of a car.</p>
<p>Tell me about it!</p>
<p>The Land Rover “mini” Evoque is rumored to have competition from an Audi sub-Q3, or Q1(?).</p>
<p>The point is that the next generation Countryman 2 will share its underpinnings with the next generation BMW X1, using the same UKL1 front-drive/4WD platform, but it will smaller than the X1. Countryman 2 will, therefore, be a proper SUV and not just a jacked-up 5 door hatch with optional 4WD as at present.</p>
<p>The Evoque is the first mass produced car in the World to offer the new and superb ZF 9 speed HP9 automatic gearbox. Top gear is such that at 90 MPH the engine is turning over at only 2000 RPM, and bottom gear so low that it climbs mountains with ease. If the new mini Evoque is equipped with the same variety of outstanding off-road gizmos as its bigger brother, it will be a formidable SUV at the price, and hard to beat by any of its competition. In fact some might ask, “What competition?”</p>
<p>Land Rovers might be one of the few cars on the market with a worse reputation for out of warranty repair costs than a MINI. Couple that with horrible resale value and you have a vehicle a lot of folks wouldn’t touch with a 10 foot pole. If you’ve got money to flush I’m sure they’re great – but for the rest of us, Land Rover isn’t an option.</p>
<p>In the 2013 UK JD Power Customer Satisfaction Survey, Jaguar came first for the second year running, but Land Rover was the star manufacturer rising to sixth place from last year’s twelfth. LR has been steadily improving year on year. BMW could only manage twelfth place and MINI shared fifteenth place with Kia. The Evoque 5 door 4WD has a residual value of 59% after three years, compared to the Countryman ‘S’ 4WD at 51%.</p>
<p>Ahem, that is exactly what they have been doing since 2007.</p>
<p>MINI in name only, it seems. I was holding out for an electric Coupé, but now I realize I was crazy to think demand would be high enough that a car company would… oop, there’s the Fiat 500e.</p>
<p>The 500e is a hoot. My wife has one now for her commute.</p>
<p>Those 1st 4 months of Paceman sales this year (178 average) appear to be very anemic compared to the 1st 4 months of the Countryman back in late 2010/early 2011 (969 average). And over the past year the Countryman has been closing in on the level of the R56 sales levels. The latest July figures give the Paceman only 226 while the Countryman, at 2211 US sales, has surpassed the hatch’s 2173 sales for the 2nd time since inception.</p>
<p>I really want to like the Paceman S as my next purchase after owning a 2008 MCS & 2012 JCW Coupe, but the Pacemen seems to be trying to complete with the Coupe at the bottom of the sales record. I can seen the Coupe as a very specialized model with a narrow market, but would think the Paceman would have a much higher market than what these early months are showing.</p>
<p>If the new 2.0L engine & optional 8 speed automatic slated for the S F56 follows ‘quickly’ into other models including the Paceman instead of a few years later, I think that would be a huge positive move!!</p>
<p>On the BMW side, the only stars are the 3-Series (Likely cash on the hood and/or heavy lease incentives), the Z4 (Ditto), 6-series, the X1 and X5 (Cash on the hood, lease deals, model changeover). On the MINI side, only the Countryman and Roadster model are carrying the torch.
Worst BMW performers are the 7-series, 1-series and 5-series. On the MINI side worst sellers are the Coupe, Clubman, Cooper S Hardtop and convertible.</p>
<p>I think you have “Roadster” and “Hardtop” backwards. Roadster sales are crap.</p>
<p>On the contrary I think Roadster sales are where MINI expected.</p>
<p>well considering they are introducing new models every year and the lineup growing, having the “the best month” ever should be a given. there are more cars and variety to sell</p>
<p>Not too mention more dealers.</p>