MINI2

MINI Clubman has been on sale for less than a month and is proving a huge hit with the British public, contributing to a record November total of 4,104 new MINI registrations. In many UK dealerships MINI Clubman allocations were quickly snapped up, leaving the car sold out into 2008. Bumper sales meant MINI enjoyed its largest ever share of the UK market last month, at 2.59 per cent. November was the third record sales month for MINI in 2007.

Nearly 3,000 orders have been placed for a new MINI Clubman. A combination of unique style, performance and low cost of ownership has evidently hit home with UK customers.

Engines combining performance with fuel efficiency and low carbon emissions feature across the MINI Clubman line-up. Auto Start-Stop, Brake Energy Regeneration and a Gearshift Point Indicator are standard on all variants and help the MINI Cooper D Clubman achieve a low emissions figure of 109 g/km CO2.

That impressive figure will surely have resonated with buyers based in London. With Transport for London expected to announce changes in 2008 legislation rewarding cars with low CO2 emissions, a MINI Cooper D Clubman is likely to be exempt from the dreaded Congestion Charge. With MINI, grin-inducing driving will be a reality in Britain’s capital city.

Performance and efficiency figures are equally remarkable across the range. The popular MINI Cooper can return 51.4 mpg and emits just 132 g/km CO2. Its sporty brother, the MINI Cooper S, achieves 44.8 mpg and 150 g/km CO2.

The BMW Group’s MINI Plants at Oxford, Swindon and Hams Hall are now at full capacity in the mid-term. This UK Production Triangle is now aiming for record production of 260,000 MINIs in 2008.

To ensure flexibility and optimum performance at the home of MINI production in the UK, and to bring the forthcoming MINI SAV to market as quickly as possible, BMW Group has announced that production of the exciting new model will be undertaken by Magna Steyr in Graz, Austria.

Well, we said it would happen, and now it’s official:  

The new MINI Sports Activity Vehicle (SAV) will be built by Magna Steyr Fahrzeugtechnik in Graz, Austria. The vehicle concept, devised by MINI Design and BMW Group engineers, has been entrusted to Magna Steyr Fahrzeugtechnik for series development and for later production.

The cooperation with Magna Steyr is an efficient way for BMW Group to ensure the planned profitable growth through new model launches set out in the company’s strategic alignment.

By outsourcing production of the MINI SAV, BMW Group is able to increase flexibility within its own production network. This allows the lead plant for MINI production in Oxford to fully direct its midterm capacity of 260,000 units towards meeting demand for the three core models MINI, MINI Convertible and MINI Clubman. It is this outsourcing of MINI SAV production that makes the extension of the MINI family possible. Frank-Peter Arndt, Head of Production and Member of the Board of Management of BMW AG, explains the advantages:

By using Magna Steyr for production, we are able to give our own Production Network some breathing space to respond fully to market needs. This solution will also allow us to bring the MINI SAV to the market as quickly as possible.

Magna Steyr is an experienced partner of BMW Group, having already produced the highly successful BMW X3. Speaking about the new contract, Siegfried Wolf, co-CEO of Magna International, sees this as a

huge recognition of the work that Magna Steyr has achieved so far through its partnership with BMW Group. Above all, I’m delighted for our employees, as this will allow us to set another milestone in our long-running and successful cooperation with BMW Group. As we have done before, we will work on this vehicle programme with our fullest commitment to ensure that we meet BMW Group’s high expectations.

As with all partnerships, BMW Group itself will be steering all aspects concerning the brand and the concept of the MINI SAV project. Thus, the majority of the drive train development will be realised by BMW. In addition, BMW Group will design the supply contracts with the suppliers whilst Magna will be responsible for call-offs during series production. The MINI designers will ensure that the vehicle will be a true MINI.

MINI2 predicted this news in February of this year, as you will see in this article.