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MINI USA to Eliminate Manual Transmissions from Some Models for 2020
The emissions certification delay on MINI manual transmissions is halting all import of those models in the US starting this July and likely last a few months. But beyond that MINI USA is also eliminating the manual transmission option altogether from some models for 2020. And a few are pretty surprising.
Until the plugin hybrid Countryman that released last year, MINI USA offered a manual transmission in every model of every car. In fact it was the last automaker in the US to do so. But the temporary emissions certification issues aside, MINI USA will be permanently reducing the models it offers with manual transmissions. The reason is what you’d expect – low take-rates. In other words not enough people are opting for manuals on some models to justify the cost of offering it. While it may be tough news to come to grips for some, keep in mind MINI USA committed to the manual. How committed? I’ve had company representatives tell me on several occasions that their intention is to be last manufacturer to offer manuals in the US.
MINI Models That Will have Manuals in 2020
Enough talk. Lets show you what models will and won’t be offered with manual transmissions. The following is a complete list of cars that had the manual as an option for 2019. Crossed out are the models losing that option for 2020.
F54 Clubman
- Cooper (eliminated from the US line-up)
- Cooper All4 (eliminated from the US line-up)
- Cooper S
- Cooper S All4
- JCW
F55 Hardtop four door
- Cooper
- Cooper S
F56 Hardtop two door
- Cooper
- Cooper S
- JCW
F57 Convertible
- Cooper
- Cooper S
- JCW
F60 Countryman
- Cooper
- Cooper All4
- Cooper S
- Cooper S All4
- JCW
That’s a lot less manuals. To be fair take-rates were quite low on many of those models. How low? Here’s a full rundown on the percentage of manuals sold for each model over the last model year (we’ve bolded what models will continue to offer a manual for easy reference):
F54 Clubman
- Cooper / 3% (eliminated from the US line-up)
- Cooper All4 / 8% (eliminated from the US line-up)
- Cooper S / 7%
- Cooper S All4 / 9%
- JCW / 22%
F55 Hardtop four door
- Cooper / 6%
- Cooper S / 10%
F56 Hardtop two door
- Cooper / 11%
- Cooper S / 17%
- JCW / 41%
F57 Convertible
- Cooper / 6%
- Cooper S / 30%
- JCW / 32%
F60 Countryman
- Cooper / 1%
- Cooper All4 / 6%
- Cooper S / 0%
- Cooper S All4 / 10%
- JCW / 19%
Where does that leave us? Losing manual availability in this many models at once is tough as a MINI enthusiast. There’s a certain authenticity to any brand that still offers manuals and no one has offered more over the years than MINI. Furthermore not having a manual on the 301 hp JCW Clubman, Countryman and upcoming GP feels like an obvious miss given the would be take-rate of those cars.
Yet even with this change MINI still offers the largest percentage of models of any brand sold in the US with a manual outside of small volume sports car makers. And given the all out assault currently happening on small cars in the North American market, it’s fair to say that things could be much worse (as we’ve seen with other brands).
<p>Wow… What a blow. I’ve been saving to get back into a MINI and was excited to hear about the added HP of the JCW Clubman. I’m a manual only guy… and it looks like MINI is now dead to me.</p>
Then put your money where your mouth is:
<a href="https://www.ottosmini.com/inventory/used-2019-mini-clubman-john-cooper-works-awd-station-wagon-wmwlv9c57k2d66894" rel="nofollow ugc">https://www.ottosmini.com/inventory/used-2019-mini-clubman-john-cooper-works-awd-station-wagon-wmwlv9c57k2d66894</a>
<p>And it’s too late to order a 19 with a stick. Alas we knew the day was coming just didn’t know they would spring it on us before we could plan to secure one.</p>
<p>I agree. Luckily there’s plenty on lots.</p>
<p>Well that depends on what you want doesn’t it? I mean I’m just going to keep my 17 JCW Clubman at this point, the only thing it doesn’t have is CarPlay ( I know you don’t care for it but I’d like it). But say a tree falls on mine…..there are 2 manual JCW Clubman’s according to Cars.com in the US. If something happens to mine I’m not going to be able to get another one. But where am I going to go for what I want?</p>
<p>I think you’re in a different situation Kevin. The JCW Clubman is rather rare and a manual even more rare.</p>
<p>Side note I’m wondering what the 301 hp does to JCW Clubman sales with that 0-60 time at 4.9 seconds. I know that we’re all pretty saddened about the manual going away but there’s another side to this story for almost all of these cars. They’re getting much better automatics. The 8 speed in the JCW Clubman is revised and extremely quick given my time in the X2 M35i. Add to that the mechanical diff and you have a monster MINI. I cannot wait to drive it.</p>
<p>The big power will be a game changer no doubt. But losing the choice of transmission is a bigger negative for me. I look forward to trying one out. But I had a bmw wagon with their 8 speed which is great but came back to MINI for the manual. 22% take rate is low, but if all 22% move on to other manual vehicles instead of accepting the auto it’s just a loss of nearly a quarter of the vehicle sales. I think I would count myself among them, but we will have to weigh the options.</p>
<p>Side note. The All4 system adds so much weight a Cooper S Clubman is as fast to 60 as the current JCW. Maybe the right combo is a Cooper S stick. They wouldn’t need more power if it wasn’t so heavy (see the Civic Type R). Instead they need 75 more hp to feel fast.</p>
<p>Yup. And it’s what the whole industry has been doing adding power to accommodate all the stuff that consumers think they need.</p>
<p>If I was forced to choose what MINI would go auto and what would stay manual it would be the Clubman/Countryman with the auto and the hardtop manual. Those larger cars are frankly designed to be autos based on the product and engineering folks I’ve spoken to at MINI over the years. The 2016 manual Clubman Cooper S I had really proved that out.</p>
<p>I can’t fault that thinking. The smaller cars HAVE to have a manual. I almost doubt any cars are planned to have a manual anymore. The marketing of all wheel drive has in many ways ruined efficiency gains with all the extra weight it adds. I don’t see much tangible performance gain from it either.</p>
<p>The lesson for this week for me is if there is a car you’d like to have (especially a manual one) don’t wait there’s no guarantee they will exist a year from now and there won’t be much warning they are going away. Glad I have mine, and I will watch used markets for cars I wanted to own as the good ones will be hard to come by.</p>
<p>The other news here is that MINI is completely eliminating the 3cyl Cooper Clubman from the US lineup.</p>
<p>Why the heck are the eliminating the S All4 when that has a higher take rate? Have they lost it?</p>
<p>We just picked up a 2017 Cooper S Clubman JCW with a manual transmission. We felt we’d found gold. After reading this we’re hanging onto it for dear life (which means no future new product purchase to replace it). As someone else stated, there’s nothing in the 2020+ line up with which we could replace it. We can’t currently downsize to the hardtop to get a manual JCW.
<a href="https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/0dc67ce275a8d433c3831103d3ad3fe04b58bc67dce46600616f69b4b467bd6c.jpg" rel="nofollow ugc">https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/0dc67ce275a8d433c3831103d3ad3fe04b58bc67dce46600616f69b4b467bd6c.jpg</a></p>
<p>We love the ’17 JCW Clubby so much we were pondering the addition of the new 300+hp JCW Clubman. We could get a 2020+ Cooper S Clubman in manual but NOT the JCW?!? No thanks. No future sales here, BMW Bean-counters.</p>
<p>Not offering <em>every</em> JCW with a manual is a serious mistake. JCW buyers show the proper historical take-rates and they are your enthusiasts who are willing to pay the premium for performance, which involves the driver-vehicle interface, not just the 0-60 times.</p>
<p>Granted – props for upping the horsepower to what it <b>should’ve been years ago</b>. But small tossable cars and manual gearboxes are (and should be) inextricable. It’s what gives you the full fun driver’s experience, which is usually BMW’s focus.</p>
<p>I just purchased a used 2017 Countryman All4 S. One of the main reasons was because it has a 6 speed manual. I have owned two MINI’s in the past and due to my enjoyment and the jump in quality on this Countryman, I was considering leasing a JCW convertible in 2020 when my F-type convertible lease is over. Jag has already killed the manual on the F-types.Now I guess I will be looking at a Miata/Porsche or ? Definitely not a MINI. <a href="https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/15a650c18302947271142e5e370054bb2580b2ae1a2f06a2b3a64b70b13087f3.jpg" rel="nofollow ugc">https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/15a650c18302947271142e5e370054bb2580b2ae1a2f06a2b3a64b70b13087f3.jpg</a></p>
<p>In related news, anyone seen the YouTube video of the two 17 year olds trying to figure out how to use a rotary phone?</p>
<p>The problem is not enough enthusiasts and non-enthusiasts are buying MINIs. BMW has to shore up its costing structure in order to keep the brand afloat which means cutting manuals and slow selling product.
I’m a manual enthusiast myself but, the writing is on the walls and has been for some time.</p>
<p>the high level decision make sense to me, just do not understand why the JCW gets the hatchet too, take rates are better w/JCWs (granted on lower volume) so why risk alienating that segment of drivers? painful…one step forward (300+ HP) and one step back (no JCW stick at that power)</p>
<p>What you don’t want to see is that today real drivers prefer automatic gearbox…</p>
<p>I don’t understand why they are keeping the stick shift in the base Countryman but losing it in the Countryman S. I’d think it would be the other way around…if anything.</p>
<p>thanks for this update! Very interesting stuff but it’s easy to see why the manuals are being dropped. It’s more surprising to see how high the take is for some models.</p>
<p>MINIUSA still allows you to configure a Countryman S ALL4 with a manual. Am I missing something here?</p>
<p>Changes are coming to the site in the weeks ahead.</p>