Opinion: Why BMW Can’t Afford to Kill the MINI 3 Door Hatch
Yesterday we reported on the rather unfortunate rumor that MINI may consider killing the iconic 3 door hatch. Throughout the web that headline garnered plenty of reaction – mostly shock and horror (and a few calls for our heads for publishing it). But the reality is there are some real storm clouds on the horizon for small cars – specifically 3 door hatchbacks. More concerning, MINI sales don’t seem to be immune to these market pressures.
What do we think? Rumors aside, do we believe that MINI Could actually kill the car that made the brand famous?
In a word. No.
MINI has invested everything in the hatch. For over 40 years they made it mostly unchanged. Then in 2001 when they re-introduced the brand it was the iconic hatch shape they chose. Three generations later it’s still the shape that most people on earth can identify as a MINI. And now MINI is introducing an all-electric car. What model you ask? The hatch. Yup, in 2019 MINI is introducing it’s most forwarding looking car ever in the shape of the MINI hatch. A modified F56 to be exact.
MINI has tied their very existence so closely with the 3 door hatch it’s simply impossible for there to be a MINI brand without it. Furthermore that type of brand identification is priceless and simply cannot be thrown away due the whims of a volatile small car market.
Despite the rumors we don’t think the 3 door hatch’s days are numbered. In fact if done right, we think that MINI has a chance to ride out this storm and actually stand for something while retaining its soul. Something that is defined by history and by values that brand is founded on.
<p>REALITY CHECK</p>
<p>The Alec Issigonis original 1959 Classic Mini, never made any significant profit for its parent company BMC, and eventually became a poisoned chalice for the company. His second front-wheel-drive model, the 1962 4-door 1100, was an instant success and almost overnight became the UK’s best selling car. Historians and industry analysts agree that, with hindsight, the Mini should never have been approved for production.</p>
<p>Fast forward to 2001 and the launch of the first ever completely new R-series MINI. Guess what, the R-series hardly made any money for BMW and the board seriously considered pulling the plug on it. Then someone had the bright idea to build a bigger 4-door MINI – the Countryman – which for the first time ever was a Mini that made a decent profit. At the eleventh hour, the MINI brand had been saved from extinction.</p>
<p>LONG LIVE THE MINI</p>
<p>So BMW finds itself in a similar position to Porsche who tried to kill off the outdated and costly to build 911 back in the 70s. The enthusiasts never took to the 928 and eventually the market came back around and the 911 was thankfully saved. The Macan SUV outsells the 911 by more than three to one now but ask any petrolhead which model represents the brand and they will say 911. It’s their halo car, just like the 3-door hatch is for MINI.</p>
<p>It has nothing to do with BMW trying to “kill off” the core (debatable) MINI 3-door Hatchback. Sales of the MINI 3-door Hatchback are steadily falling, sales of the Countryman are steadily rising. It would be for sound commercial reasons IF it ever takes place.</p>
<p>“Sound commercial reasons” would have foolishly doomed many of the all-time iconic cars.</p>
<p>The point I was trying to make about a halo car is that most manufacturer’s have a model that most people immediately recognize: Jeep Wrangler, Porsche 911, Ford Mustang, Dodge Viper etc. For MINI that would be the Countryman in the future???</p>
<p>Well, the Countryman certainly deserves iconic status – it saved MINI from extinction.</p>
<p>The Porsche Macan saved Porsche from extinction but it would not call it iconic. Maybe when I see it at LeMans.</p>
<p>Correction, the Macan did not save Porsche from extinction, the very profitable Cayenne, Macan and Panamera saved the 911 from extinction. The Countryman, however, saved MINI from extinction.</p>
<p>The bottom line here is that, as painful as it is to its core fans, the 3-door Hatchback is the least profitable model in the MINI range, and now that more options have by necessity been made standard, it has become even less profitable. Remember also, that the development and production cost of cars sharing essentially the same underpinnings is much the same.</p>
<p>It’s no good fans just talking the talk, they need to walk the walk and get out there and put their money where their mouth is and buy the 3-door, but they don’t. You yourself eulogies about the 3-door, but what do you drive? A 2-series Coupe. I rest my case :)</p>
<p>I’d be happy to put my money down on a new MINI 3-door hatch if I didn’t think the car was such a design disaster. The long nose, horrible lower bumper treatment on the S and JCW, and huge tail lights don’t do a thing for me. I’ll keep an eye on MINI from the sidelines until the next gen design breaks cover. Also still kind of hoping that the Rocketman isn’t totally dead yet.</p>
<p>I agree with you about the Rocketman, and by all accounts BMW has never let go of the idea, but has never been able to make a viable business case for one. However, if sources in China are right, a deal with GWM to co-develop an all-electric city car would reduce the development cost considerably.</p>
<p>The design is said to be funky and less retro than the concept but will still have flexible seating, and the spec can span very basic to all-in. Future proofing it for 2020 and beyond means advanced digital services and optional Level 2 driver assistance systems. It is expected to cost less than £20k.</p>
<p>BTW, thought the following might be of interest:</p>
<p><a href="http://europe.autonews.com/article/20180915/ANE/180919922/europes-crossover-craze-drives-market-gains#disqus_thread" rel="nofollow ugc">http://europe.autonews.com/article/20180915/ANE/180919922/europes-crossover-craze-drives-market-gains#disqus_thread</a></p>
<p>sales of the 3 door hatch are falling because MINI alienated it’s core market with the F56. simple story. it’s no longer a car that the original buyers of the R50/R53 want, (and the R56 was the first step in that wrong direction).</p>
<p>If only it were that simple :)</p>
<p>Of course, we should not dismiss CAR’s sources in China who are saying that the 2022 all-electric MINI, to be co-developed with GWM, will be a standalone model about the size of the Rocketman concept car, and will be a 3-door Hatchback.</p>
<p>That would leave the door open for the rumored new 5-door Hatchback, the “reinvented” Clubman and the new Countryman, to be built on the all-new FAAR platform, with a three cylinder petrol engine with mild-hybrid assistance as standard issue.</p>
<p>If MINI is going to kill a model, that 5-door hatchback is what they should send to sleep with the fishes.</p>
<p>New customers as well as repeat customers will always be needed if a brand is to survive, and the 5-door Hatchback, for example, has made MINI ownership a practical proposition for thousands of motorists, who would otherwise have never bought a MINI, or for whom a 3-door Hatchback is no longer practical.</p>
<p>Here in Europe, including the UK, car ownership among the young has changed dramatically in the past twenty years. For a variety of reasons, far fewer under 25 year olds drive or are buying cars, and when they finally do, the sort of car they buy is very different than their previous generation bought or desired. Now they are more socially minded and want more practical cars that are capable of multitasking.</p>
<p>I could agree the 5-door hatchback serves that purpose if we were living in a world where the Clubman and Countryman don’t exist. But we aren’t.</p>
<p>I don’t think you have quite got the hang of this. People who buy the 5-door do so because they love the go-cart handling of the F56, but want additional practicality in everyday use without the bulk and expense of the F54/F60.</p>
<p>BTW fishbert, you have in the past declared – voluntarily – that you are blessed with impressive height and width. Is the real reason for your dislike of the 5-door Hatchback simply that you would find it challenging to get in and out of one because of its shorter doors? :)</p>
<p>No, that’s a problem for me on the Clubman as well. The reason is because this is not “additional practicality”; this is ticking a box on a sales sheet.
<a href="https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/45758b41622dc3b3259df724dd4370dee2f5fab135f0a54a88c08279726755e5.jpg" rel="nofollow ugc">https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/45758b41622dc3b3259df724dd4370dee2f5fab135f0a54a88c08279726755e5.jpg</a></p>
<p>Wow, never realized how tight that was.</p>
<p>With a shorter wheelbase and less rear headroom, just imagine how tight it is in the back of the F56.</p>
<p>It’s horribly tight. As a 6′ 4″ 225lb guy, I have trouble getting in and out of the FRONT doors of all the MINI 4 door models (hardtop, Clubby, and Countryman). The back is darn near impossible.</p>
<p>I’ve never had a problem with the longer door openings of my R53, R55, and F56.</p>
<p>Horses for courses :)</p>
<p>I would say the opposite is truer 3 door hatch has a future simple because with automation “self driving” cars, smaller models make more sense.</p>
<p>When these “self driving” cars become the norm, car ownership and taxi in traditional sense won’t exist. People will lease their mobility. Smaller cars will become the norm.</p>
<p>Already gen Z aren’t buying cars. I think BMW needs to be careful SUV are likely to be a short term trend. It is the baby BMW.</p>
<p>Mini (BMW) have a reputation to build unique fun, fast, small quality cars a brand different to other manufacturers.</p>
<p>Why Mini sales declining is probably more due to the age of the F56 series, besides the recent LCI refresh the current model dates back to 2014. It is showing its age compared to other makes.</p>
<p>More traditional original Mini enthusiasts never saw the BMW Mini as a Mini. I am not in that camp.</p>
<p>But if BMW do drop the 3 door they will have lost me and a whole lot of enthusiasts who won’t consider the brand a Mini without the 3 door. Sure they may attract a lot of other buyers interested in their “not a Mini Mini” but they will have to compete with a whole lot of other brands on price, size, features etc.</p>
<p>As a Mini enthusiast BMW have a captive market who will only buy a Mini, who don’t compare with other brands cause they not a Mini.</p>
<p>This won’t occur if the 3 door is killed off.</p>
<p>If the only 3-door MINI Hatchback on sale in the future, circa 2022, is the much rumored standalone all-electric MINI, built on an all-new platform co-developed with GWM – said to be about the same size as the “Rocketman” concept – would such a MINI appeal to you?</p>
<p>Definitely would as it is closer to the original Mini small. Although the range of the car and time to charge would be important as rural Mini owner.</p>
<p>Provisional spec is said to include a 38kWh battery pack (the new Nissan Leaf musters 40kWh), a 134hp electric motor and an average range of 180miles.</p>
<p>I don’t think BMW needs to produce a car that doesn’t make the company money.</p>
<p>If the 3-door hatch is a halo that creates profit for BMW through its other bigger and more expensive products, then great. But if the 3-door hatch doesn’t do that, then it is not a true halo car. Just a sentimental, gangrene limb.</p>
<p>Bottom line for me is that the 3-door hatch is ugly and I don’t care if it gets killed. Except of course, the 3-door was already killed for me when it was made big and ugly (front overhang), and then didn’t sell well anyhow.</p>
<p>Now if BMW wants to make a Rocketman in a few years with GWM, that would be amazing and I truly believe/hope it would sell well. Will happily wait for BMW-GWM to get that right.</p>
<p>In the meantime I’m fine if BMW stops making a car that they aren’t executing well (IMO) and the market isn’t embracing.</p>