Official: MINI USA Sales Down -30.9% For January 2014
With R56 inventories dwindling and F56 deliveries delayed, it’s no surprise that overall MINI sales are down considerably.
“For January, MINI USA reports 2,543 automobiles, a decrease of 30.9 percent from the 3,682 sold in the same month a year ago. MINI USA is currently in transition from the current hardtop to the new model arriving in the second quarter.”
Sales were down across the board, with the exception of the Clubman and the Convertible, but Hardtop sales were down the hardest, at -49.7%.
Source: MINI
<p>After seeing where MINI is going (bigger, heavier, more expensive) I don’t think I’ll return to the brand either. MINI no longer lives up to their name.</p>
<p>all they need to do is.. a rocketman. so the rest of the cars can get bigger.</p>
<p>100% agree. I’d buy the Rocketman, if I could bring myself to part with my coupe. I’m sure I’d have a lot of fights with myself before reaching a decision on that one.</p>
<p>That’s the nature of every car company and MINI has been doing it for a long time already. How do you think classic Mini owners felt when the R53 was introduced?</p>
<p>exactly. I sometimes scare myself when thinking that way because its so familiar with all the classic-Mini lovers’ rants when R50/53 showed up.
It’s just progress and I believe that F56 is a fantastic car. R53 will always be my fave but life goes on.</p>
<p>Actually, Roadster sales appear to be down even more at -64.8%. Wow. I wonder if it will still be around when I am finally ready to get one… :(</p>
<p>True, but that’s such a low-volume car every month it often sees big fluctuations.</p>
<p>It came on the market a year ago. Pent up demand for it. Now it will have lows in the winter when convertables have traditionally lower sales.</p>
<p>Think the most interesting part is -24.2% drop on the Countryman. Seems a bit odd since the winter weather is among us so 4×4 sales should be up and that the R60 still has a long while until its replaced. Still broadly speaking don’t think there is a whole lot to worry about in this report.</p>
<p>People dont go car shopping when the inventory is under a foot of snow ;)</p>
<p>And sales of the Convertible are up. Go figure.</p>
<p>I agree with Chris though, the weather has been so bad in January in many parts of the country, who goes car shopping? I doubt a single car was sold in Atlanta last week during the snow for example.</p>
<p>My wife is wanting to downsize for our 4Runner. That thing has been so reliable. That the one nagging doubt that prevents us from pulling the trigger on a Countryman. Most every review warns of MINI reliability. It’s a tough sells. If I pay a premium price I expect a premium vehicle, including reliability.</p>
<p>You’re going to be mortified coming from Toyota. Relability is an almost guaranteed negative, as there are just known items that plague the N18 engine. If I could do it all again, I’d have bought that damn extended warranty. My R56 is going in tomorrow for the third oil leak in 3 months.</p>
<p>Go on northamericanmotoring and check out the list of common repairs. Great cars, but coming from a Toyota, be prepared.</p>
<p>That’s what I’m afraid of. It will likely be a Rav4 or Mazda CX5. Neither of whiz look as good as the Countryman</p>
<p>CX-5 for sure. Next to a Countryman, that car drives incredibly well and gets great gas mileage. Maybe also consider a low-mileage CPO (“mini-next”) Countryman? They come with a 100k mile(!) powertrain warranty. Only issues I’ve ever had on my R56 would have been covered by that limited warranty, as they were all engine related.</p>
<p>Are buyers waiting for the new models and not buying the remaking 2013, or are they giving up on the brand because of poor reliability?</p>
<p>Well there are fewer and fewer R56s to be bought if someone wanted one. So it’s not a matter of choosing to wait as much as being forced to wait at this point if you want a hardtop.</p>
<p>It’s true, I was looking for an R56 hardtop back in September and was told they were no longer producing them. I couldn’t have built one even if I had cash on the spot.</p>
<p>My dealer actually has a bunch on the lot that have gone unsold for months.</p>
<p>Enough to offset the drop in sales? ;-)</p>
<p>Are the ‘official’ US mileage figures for the 2 F56 models expected to come out soon? Might they be any different than the recently revealed estimates?</p>
<p>Mid February.</p>