Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey – April 2, 2013… It’s official: MINI has sold its 500,000th vehicle in America. A few days after the 11-year anniversary of its launch in the U.S, and the introduction of the all-new MINI Paceman (the seventh model in the lineup), MINI USA welcomes its 500,000th new car owner.
“This milestone is an incredible achievement for MINI, and we’re proud to have so many Motorers as part of the MINI family,” said Jim McDowell, Vice President – MINI USA. “11 years ago, doubters said a small car could not succeed here, but MINI proved that small could be premium, fun to drive and have real character, creating a whole new segment that has grown significantly in the years since then.”
MINI has increased its U.S. sales from 24,590 units in 2002, to 66,123 units in 2012. Moving into the first part of 2013, the brand continues to grow its portfolio, which now includes: Hardtop, Clubman, Convertible, Countryman, Coupe, Roadster and Paceman. The dealer network also continues to expand with 116 dealerships currently open, and plans for a total of approximately 130 facilities by the end of 2013 (including operating facilities and those signed and under construction).
“The most important contributor to MINI’s success here in the U.S. is the MINI Community,” said McDowell. “They are so passionate and engaged that we constantly ask ourselves whether a decision is in their best interest… We work hard to maintain a special relationship with the Community, delivering unique experiences, cherished memories and a true feeling of being part of a family.”
Breaking a record to mark an anniversary: MINI continues its success story in the USA.
The land of opportunity remains the primary sales region for the British premium brand – ten years after MINI was launched, yet another record has been broken with sales of 66,123 vehicles.
Munich. Last summer there were celebrations marking “10 Years of MINI in the USA”. By the end of the year congratulations were in order once again: the British premium brand had broken a new sales record in the USA after delivering 66,123 MINI models in the course of 2012 – a jump of 15 per cent over the previous year. With these figures, the “land of opportunity” has made a significant contribution to MINI’s new record-breaking global sales total of 301,526 units. Yet again the USA has emerged as the world’s number one market for small and compact vehicles sporting the MINI badge.
Within the United States, MINI enjoys a resounding popularity on the West Coast in particular. The West sales region, which includes the states of California and Nevada, recorded 21,505 newly registered MINIs last year. In California, which accounts for around one in four of all MINIs sold in the USA, the market share is commensurately high. Peak figures were achieved in upmarket Los Angeles, where MINI notched up a slice of 9 per cent of sales in the competitive field, followed by the San Francisco region with 8.2 per cent. Across the USA as a whole, the MINI market share currently lies around the 6.7 percentage mark.
Credit for the growth rates in global MINI sales must also go to the ongoing expansion of the model range. Boasting 102,250 units sold – around a third of total sales – the MINI Countryman played a pivotal role in the record results of 2012. In the USA, the MINI Countryman’s share in the brand’s overall success is similarly large: 21,012 vehicles from this model range found buyers in the USA in 2012. It reflects a clear trend towards powerful engines and the ALL4 all-wheel-drive system. The MINI Cooper S Countryman ALL4 was the most popular model variant with sales of 8,223 units, followed by the MINI Cooper S Countryman, which notched up 7,479.
Thus the MINI brand’s foray into a new vehicle segment proved a great success story in 2012 as well, both in the USA and globally. Yet the front-runner in the brand’s popularity ratings is once again the MINI Hatch. This classic body variant also topped the USA rankings with sales of 29,278 units. Following the second-placed MINI Countryman are the MINI Clubman (5,769 units) and the MINI Convertible (4,813). As for the latter, it is worth noting that the open-top four-seater is extremely popular on the sunny West Coast in particular and that last year almost 60 per cent of were ordered in high-performance MINI Cooper S Convertible guise.
The two novices in the model range – the MINI Coupé and the MINI Roadster – likewise made a blistering start out of the blocks. In its first complete sales year the MINI Coupé registered 2,880 deliveries, while in the first few months of its life in the United States the MINI Roadster already had a tally of 2,371 units to add to the brand’s successful sales figures. Both two-seaters, moreover, instantly established their status in the USA as a byword for outstanding driving fun and a particularly intense go-kart feeling – as corroborated by the strong demand for the extremely sporty MINI John Cooper Works Coupé and MINI John Cooper Works Roadster models. Their market share within the relevant range clearly outstrips that of any other MINI.
MINI in the US
MINI is an independent brand of the BMW Group. In the United States, MINI USA operates as a business unit of BMW of North America, LLC, located in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey and includes the marketing and sales organizations for the MINI brand. The MINI USA sales organization is represented in the U.S. through a network of 116 MINI passenger car dealers in 38 states. MINI USA began selling vehicles in the U.S. in 2002 with the introduction of the MINI Cooper and MINI Cooper S Hardtops. Since then, the MINI Brand in the U.S. has grown to encompass a model range of seven unique vehicles.
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