Could BMW Kill the MINI 3 Door Hatch?
Could BMW kill the iconic MINI 3 door hatch? The one that is based on the very origins of the brand? Sources are telling us that there are some within BMW that believe MINI should kill the 3 door hatch when the current generation ends production in 2022. Along with the convertible cancellation around the same time (which is more strongly rumored) that would leave just the five door, Clubman and Countryman in a future, paired down MINI line-up. Why would BMW do this and and how likely is this to actually happen? Read on.
There’s plenty of recent precedent for the move if it goes ahead. VW alone has killed the three door versions of the Beetle, Polo, Scirocco and Up, as well as the Audi A3. Even the ones that are still on-sale (Audi A1, Volkswagen Golf, Skoda Citigo) will be killed when the next generation of each debuts.
Sales of 3 door hatchbacks have been dwindling in Europe and are traditionally not as sought after in China. Traditionally the US hasn’t been a bastion of sale for such cars either. But the traditional MINI 3 door hatch had been a big seller. In December of 2012 for instance it sold a staggering 3,011 units. Fast forward to last month and MINI USA only sold 867 units.
But the bigger issue (in the US at least) is the evaporation of the small car market. It can clearly be seen in MINI USA’s sales numbers. Even combining sales of the 3 and 5 door hatch, they fall short of the Countryman crossover. This trend is being played out in other brands around the world as well. Crossovers are dominating sales and stealing share from traditional sedans, wagons and hatchbacks. Combine this with the size requirements that electric drivetrains require and you can see why automakers have been quick to move away from the classic three door hatch – a shape Mini helped invent.
What’s the Real Likelihood that BMW Will Kill the MINI 3 Door Hatch?
Would MINI take the radical step of killing the most iconic model in its line-up? According to sources we seem to be at the moment of debate within BMW. We know in talking with BMW and MINI execitives over the years that there are plenty who believe that the 3 door is the heart and soul of the brand and must be kept at all costs. But according to our sources there are other more pragmatic views that would prefer to look forward and want the MINI brand to have a more fluid and evolving product line-up that. One that presumably stays in-tune with consumer desires.
What do we think? We would be shocked if MINI took such a radical step and believe it’s probably just a discussion point in future strategy meetings at the moment. However crazier things have happened.
What about you? How would you feel if the MINI 3 Door hatch was taken out of the line-up?
<p>It isn’t April right, no is September. But I do hope a bad joke. For me if BMW do decides to lose the 3 door can they let us know before. So I can buy the last 3 door model before no more.</p>
<p>this has got to be one of the dumbest things ive heard, who doesnt want an original 3 door, its not like they havent sold any since 2001 lol…..</p>
<p>Definitely a very dumb move if they do. I’m also shocked at VW killing the golf. The golf would also be one of my test drives if I needed another car.</p>
<p>As far as the American car market goes, we are in the period of SUVs and trucks. But gas prices will go up again at some point in the future. All it will take is some geopolitical crisis somewhere and wham, up they go and manufacturers will be scrambling to build or import a small car.</p>
<p>Looks like Ford is betting on SUV/Truck sales not just being a phase. They are killing everything else but the Mustang.</p>
<p>Don’t forget the new Focus Active</p>
<p><a href="https://www.motor1.com/news/240665/2020-ford-focus-active-detailed/" rel="nofollow ugc">https://www.motor1.com/news/240665/2020-ford-focus-active-detailed/</a></p>
<p>Ford just said they would not import the focus active due to tariffs.</p>
<p>Thanks for that – it doesn’t surprise me though – Ford is being utterly ruthless right now, but that’s the name of the game :)</p>
<p>The good thing is almost nobody today drives a real SUV. By that I mean a body and frame design. All now are platform derivatives or tall lifted wagons. Most of them get only 2 mpg worse than the car version and the manufacturers are beginning to close that gap. It’ll get to a point soon enough there will be little need/advantage to drive a car, in the proper sense.</p>
<p>That’s why when Ford says they’re getting out of the car market, they aren’t really. Ford’s a glorified station wagon manufacture now. ?</p>
<p>If they did then they would essentially kill off the convertible as well. Convertible sales are in a slump across all brands however they would not keep the platform for just a small amount of convertible sales.</p>
<p>The convertible is also rumored to he axed in the next generation.</p>
<p>All in all I think MINI has one of the best convertibles so it is sad it would be killed off. First MINI (of many) we owned was a 2005 LY Convertible picked up new.</p>
<p>MINI had one of the best convertibles in the Roadster. I’ve never been able to get on the other convertible bandwagon, due to the obstructed view out the back with the top down.</p>
<p>Car makers are in business to make cars that people want to buy, and above all car makers need to make a profit. According to JATO Dynamics, a global supplier of automotive business intelligence, global customer demand for 3-door Hatchbacks and Convertibles is fast declining. Whatever happens next, the fourth generation MINI is going to be a very different beast from what we have been used to.</p>
<p>I am sick of all the 4+ door compact cars. I recently just purchased a 2015 Cooper s convertible.. In part because it is a 2 door. I won’t buy a new VW because I cannot get a 2 door hatch.</p>
<p>P.s. Companies need to stop calling 4door sedans coupes..</p>
<p>Jon – the good news is that you are a member of an increasingly exclusive club – the bad news is that increasingly car makers can no longer afford to indulge you and your fellow club members :)</p>
<p>Hogwash! MINI is a niche brand, and niche brands shouldn’t go chasing after what the market as a whole wants, they should focus on satisfying their corner of the market. And if your corner of the market isn’t the happening place that everyone else wants to occupy, that’s great… less competition.</p>
<p>?</p>
This is pure sentimentality and there is no place in business for sentiment.
BTW Fishbert, when was the last time you bought a brand new MINI, and which MINI model do you currently drive?
<p>I completely disagree with you – this is pure sentimentality and there has never been room in business for sentiment.</p>
<p>BTW fishbert, when was the last time you bought/leased a brand new 2-door MINI, and which two-door MINI model do you currently drive?</p>
<p>Not that it matters, but I had a 2009 R56 S that met with an unfortunate end on the highway a few years ago (that’s one way to solve the carbon buildup issue), and to replace it I got a 2015 F56 S which I’ve put about 117k miles on in the last 3 years.</p>
<p>In other words, I’m not some overly-sentimental original MINI or even R53 owner who pines for the days of old.</p>
<p>Thanks for your reply. Well I think it does matter, and surely the most important thing here is the preservation of the brand, not an obsession with a particular model.</p>
<p>Volkswagen WAS a niche brand too.. Once upon a time</p>
<p>Correct – the Golf is now consistently the third best selling car in the World – 431,836 sold in the first half of 2018 – and the all-new Golf MK 8 Hatchback will only be available with 5-doors. Even its baby brother, the 5-door only Polo Hatchback – closest competitor to the MINI Hatchback and 13th best seller in the world – enjoyed 312,677 sales in H1 2018. MINI can only dream about sales figures like these.</p>
<p>BTW, the best selling BMW in the world is the 3-series in 45th place with 188,364 sold in H1 2018, closely followed by the 5-series with 186,298 sold.</p>
<p>Although I ordered/bought a new 3 door S hatch in 2008, a 2012 JCW Coupe in 2012, a 5 door S hatch in 2015, and then move to the much larger new S All 4 Countryman in 2017, I just cannot see eliminating the 3 door hatch from the MINI lineup. It really needs to remain as the historical core of the brand. I only moved on to the CM for my own changing needs as the main vehicle in the household… needing more room and versatility in my later years, now 78 yrs young. Personally, I’ve always prefers smaller vehicles (even had a 1972 Honda Z600 sport coupe which predated the Civic & was about the size and weight of the original MiNI right down to the 10” wheels.)
Bob Lavoie/Grayghost</p>
<p>I have decided that if I ever upgrade from my current 2005 R52 I will be getting a roadster or a coupe. There is nothing that MINI currently offers that appeals to me in the least bit. It is pretty sad that they may kill the hatch and convertible, if they do that will be it for me as a MINI fan.</p>
<p>La MINI 3portes est l’icône de la marque ! Il ne faut surtout pas la supprimer ! Moi je déprime si BMW fait ça :’(</p>
<p>I find the overhang so atrocious that I wouldn’t care if they made the whole 3-door disappear.</p>
<p>Actually, they already killed the 3-door coupe when BMW made it bigger and uglier. (Which still didn’t revive sales.) So yeah, might as well make it official.</p>