MINI2

BMW group have just released their latest sales stats, and they look good both for BMW (in particular the 1 and 5 series), but also of note are that sales of the MINI also continued to be very positive.

In the month just past, 21,463 MINIs were delivered to customers, 17.5% more than in April 2007 (18,264). For the year to April, 79,680 MINI were sold, which represents an increase of 22.1% (prev.yr.: 65,244).

Not bad going considering the economic slow down we keep hearing about, however the MINI brand may be gaining sales as people cut back from more expensive, and more thirsty brands to the smaller end of the market.

For the fourth year running BMW has won overall top prize at the 2008 International Engine of the Year Awards.

A panel of judges from around the globe awarded the top honour to the 3.0-litre twin-turbocharged petrol engine which powers the 1 Series, 3 Series and X6 in the 135i, 335i and X6 xDrive35i models respectively.

The 1.6 litre BMW/PSA unit found in the MINI scooped the top prize in the 1.4 to 1.8 litre engine capacity. Between them, BMW and MINI drove off with five category wins to dominate the 2008 awards.

Final results for overall IEotY 2008:

Engine - Points

BMW 3.0-litre twin-turbo (Various / 306hp) - 380
Volkswagen Group 1.4-litre TSI (Various / Various) - 287
Volkswagen Group 2.0-litre FSI (Various / 207hp) - 270
BMW 4.0-litre V8 (M3 / 420hp) - 241
BMW PSA 1.6-litre turbo (Various / 173hp) - 151
BMW 5.0-litre V10 (M5, M6 / 507hp) - 149

Here’s a piece of positive news for parent company BMW coming out of the UK.

Despite having its detractors in the press and public, especially in relation to the right hand side only suicide door which many interpreted as a snub to the UK market, the MINI Clubman accounted to one in five of all MINIs sold in the UK during the month of March 2008.

Not bad going for a vehicle which many view as even more of a niche product than the MINI itself was ever seen to be!

According to reports, the MINI colour palette is to be updated this summer (July to be precise) following customer feedback that the current range is just ‘too blue’ and a little on the bland side.

As is usually the case, some existing colours are being forfeited in order to make way for the three new colours that will be available across the MINI range. The new colours will be: Kumquat Orange, which replaces Nightfire Red, Sweet Lime (replacing the previously ever present, but rather dull, British Racing Green) and Pink Grapefruit, which arrives in place of Sparkling Silver.

BMW head of colour and vibrancy Dr. Töricht said:

MINI should be a vibrant brand, and we recognise, based on customer feedback, that maybe we had become a little dull and unadventurous with our colour palette. These three new “Citrus” colours will add something different, something fruity and fun to the MINI that perhaps has been lacking until now, we are sure they will be a great hit.
We appreciate that replacing traditional British Racing Green with our exciting new Lime Green may leave a bitter taste in the mouths of some of our British customers, but we’d rather have sour than dour, and we’re sure that they’ll appreciate that being a German brand having British Racing Green among the colour options was a little uncomfortable.

In other news, BMW have released a press statement about their new protection system for Alloy wheels. We trust this clever technology will eventually appear on the MINI range too:

BMW’s Canine Repellent Alloy Protection

The latest innovation to stop foul play on the street

BMW has announced the first details of the new Canine Repellent Alloy Protection system. Designed to stop dogs fouling against the sparkling alloys of new BMW cars, the innovative Canine Repellent Alloy Protection system (C.R.A.P.) is the latest offering in the BMW EfficientDynamics programme.

Using the EfficientDynamics Brake Energy Regeneration system, energy that would normally have been lost during engine over-run and during braking is harnessed as Rim Impulse Power (R.I.P.) and stored for future use. Whenever a dog tries to relieve itself on the wheel of a suitably-equipped BMW, a small and relatively painless electric shock is immediately administered to the animal, thus deterring it from future fouling.

Dr Hans Zoff, Head of Automotive Security from BMW AG, said; “Research shows that most BMW customers like to keep their cars clean and dog fouling is a constant irritant. Not only does the Canine Repellent Alloy Protection system support this aim, but it does so using energy created through the EfficientDynamics programme. Beauty through engineering perfection – our philosophy in a wheel nut.”

1st April 2008 the new MINI Cherished website will go live, improved and upgraded to help would be used MINI purchasers in their quest for the ideal ride.

According to a MINI press release, sales of used MINIs via the official MINI Cherished scheme have rocketed recently, and the revamped website is part of their response to ever increasing demand for used MINIs.

The stats speak for themselves, in February 2007 there were 518,018 searches for Cherished MINIs, February 2008 saw an increase of over 90% to 992,269 searches. Sales are also up over 25%, January 2007 saw 2178 Cherished MINIs leave dealer forecourts, and the same month in 2008 saw 2580 used MINIs purchased.

Thanks to the manufacturer-backed scheme, with every Cherished MINI coming with the following range of benefits:

• Minimum 12 months MINI Warranty
• Minimum 12 months MINI Emergency Service Cover across the UK and Continental Europe
• Minimum 12 month MOT and MOT Cover
• Full Service History
• Independent vehicle history and mileage checks
• Finance and Insurance available through MINI Financial Services

The MINI Cherished website address is www.minicherished.co.uk

Fleet News has become the latest media outlet to nominate MINI as a green winner. In the publication’s 20th Annual Awards ceremony, MINI was named Best Small Car 2008 thanks to the introduction of new fuel-saving technologies and amazingly strong residual values.

Cost-conscious, practical and desirable motoring topped the awards criteria. The Fleet News panel cited the new Clubman model as key to the appeal of MINI for business car drivers, with one judge claiming: “There is no other car in the sector that drivers would like to have more.”

MINI’s new range of Hatch and Clubman models shot to prominence in 2007 thanks to technologies based on BMW’s EfficientDynamics systems. With carbon emissions-based taxation a key factor in this week’s Budget announcement, many MINI owners could now actually find themselves in a stronger financial position.

Emitting just 104 and 109g/km C02 respectively, the MINI Cooper D Hatch and Clubman models will be exempt from Vehicle Excise Duty as of 01 April 2009 under the Budget ruling. This follows earlier news from Transport for London that from October 2008, cars emitting less than 120g/km C02 will be exempt from congestion charging.

Company car tax thresholds have also been revised and the Cooper D derivatives are again winners, thanks to the income tax rate cut and reduced 13 per cent taxation on diesel cars emitting less than 120g/km C02.

The Fleet News Environmental Award was claimed by BMW Group. This award recognises the fleet industry’s commitment to reducing its impact on the environment. EfficientDynamics developments, available across BMW and MINI products, positioned BMW Group as the clear winner in a hard-fought category.

22 BMW derivatives and 5 MINI models now emit less than 140g/km C02. From April 2009 every one of these sub-140g/km cars will fall in to VED band E or lower, meaning owners will then pay a maximum of £115 for their annual road fund licence.

That’s according to a press release just put out by the BMW group, which as a whole had a successful 2007.

Sales of the MINI showed strong growth with the retail sales volume rising by 18.5% to 222,875 units (2006: 188,077 units), while BMW brand cars saw a relatively small (but still significant) 7.7%.

At the other end of the scale, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars achieved a four-figure annual sales volume for the first time ever, handing over 1,010 vehicles to customers during 2007.

On the eco angle, more than 450,000 BMW and MINI brand cars equipped with EfficientDynamics had been sold by the end of 2007 and by the end of the current year this figure is expected to rise to over 800,000 vehicles.

As with the original MINI, the second generation MINI will soon be due a nip and tuck, a mid life facelift and refresh. Rumours suggest that the facelift for the second generation car may be more dramatic than we saw first time around, and we’d like to know what you would like to happen.

The first MINI facelift took place after three years of release, in the summer of 2004. Changes were cosmetic as well as mechanical across the range, but to the untrained eye, very little changed. Most of the exterior and interior changes involved plastic or clip-on components. The bumpers, grilles, lights, and other ‘easy to change’ parts were updated to match the new look of the MINI Convertible.

Apparently with the second generation this pattern will continue, with the Convertible leading the way for hard top changes. However, we’ve heard that sheet metal changes, as well as the previous bolt ons, will be updated this time around, suggesting perhaps a more dramatic (while still in no way a full ‘generation change’) update will take place this time around.

We’d like to know, what cosmetic, and perhaps subtle mechanical changes would you make to the second generation MINI to make it appeal more to you as a MINI enthusiast?

MINI UK is to showcase the best in future movie-making talent by screening a series of original short films in British cinemas. The four-month campaign featuring films supplied by the global short film label, Future Shorts, begins in art house cinemas on 07 March 2008, and will spread to every major cinema chain across the UK later in April.

Screenings of the short films will take place prior to key feature length movies and more than 17.5 million people are expected to see one of the short film productions.

MINI worked with short film label specialist Future Shorts in the search for film-making talent. From a long list of up-and-coming directors and producers, three stood out and their work will be shown between March and June of 2008. ‘Procrastination’ by Levni Yilmaz, ‘Park Football’ by Grant Orchard and ‘Neighbour’ by Eric Lynne will all receive big screen debuts.

Ysabel Vazquez, National Communications Manager for MINI, said:

The launch campaign for the MINI Clubman was all about celebrating originality and as such we are delighted to be able to give a big screen platform to fresh, creative short film talent.

Future Shorts Director, Fabien Riggall said:

MINI has continuously broken new ground with its commitment to innovation and Future Shorts is delighted to be working with them on this project.

Video presentations of the MINI John Cooper Works and Clubman have been released by BMW/MINI.

We’re showing four of the videos below, courtesy of video hosting site YouTube, the first, main feature video shows the John Cooper Works MINI and John Cooper Works MINI Clubman playing on the track, and features and impressive soundtrack from the twin exhausts of the cars.

The following videos are more subdued, showing the design details, exterior and interior, of the two new models.

MINI John Cooper Works & Clubman

MINI John Cooper Works

MINI John Cooper Works Clubman

MINI John Cooper Works Clubman Interior