BMW celebrates 1.5 million "new" Minis made
2009 Mini Cooper S Convertible – Click above for high-res image gallery
2009 has been a big year for BMW's Mini brand. Mini launched a new convertible, turned 50 years old, and has now produced 1.5 million new generation models since production began in 2001. Interestingly, the 'new' Mini has outpaced the demand of the original car, which sold over 5.3 million copies from 1959-2000.
Mini's success has been a boon to BMW, as customers have been willing to pony up over $30,000 for fully optioned-out model. The re-launch of the brand has been so successful that BMW has introduced the cute little car in 80 countries. The Oxford, England plant that produces the Mini employs over 7,000 workers and represents 1% of the island's total GDP. Hit the jump to pour over the shorter than usual BMW press release.
[Source: BMW]
PRESS RELEASE:
Oxford: Just weeks after celebrating MINI's 50th birthday, another milestone was reached today as the 1.5 millionth car rolled off Plant Oxford's production line, since the launch of the new MINI in 2001.
Business Minister Ian Lucas MP, responsible for the automotive sector at the government department for Business Innovation and Skills (BIS) and BMW Group board member Ian Robertson joined a group of Plant Oxford apprentices as the Chili red MINI Clubman cleared the end of the production line. The car is destined for a British customer.
Since production started at Oxford in 2001, MINI has become a global phenomenon, winning plaudits and awards all over the world and is now sold in more than 80 countries, with its most recent launch in Brazil.
Ian Robertson, member of the Board of Management of BMW AG, responsible for Sales and Marketing, said: "This is a great day for the plant and a wonderful milestone to reach in the 50th birthday year of MINI. The very first classic Mini rolled off the production line here at this plant on 8 May 1959.
"It was wonderful to see the passion that owners feel for MINI at the car's recent birthday celebrations at Silverstone, when 25,000 people from around the world joined the party. It is a privilege to be part of the heritage and future of this car."
Robertson added, "This is a tough time for the car industry and no business is immune from its challenges, but MINI is an extremely resilient brand with huge customer appeal and we have seen a strengthening order bank in recent months. We will launch a number of new models in the coming years and we are optimistic for the future."
BMW Group has invested more than £380m in Plant Oxford since 2001 and a further £100 million in the Hams Hall and Swindon plants, which make up the MINI Production Triangle in the UK. The Group employs more than 7,000 people in the UK, and its activities account for 1 percent of the country's GDP. The company has invested more than £1 billion in the UK since 2000.
Business Minister Ian Lucas said: "The Mini has been a symbol of British design and engineering for 50 years, and I am delighted to hear that it continues to succeed today. Part of the longevity of the Mini has come from the company's ability to innovate – the redesign that was launched in 2001, the focus on reducing CO2, and the electric Minis that over the next year we will be seeing on the streets as part of the Government's Low Carbon Vehicles Demonstrator. The Government will do all it can to support the British automotive industry as it makes the necessary transition to the low carbon future."
Recently, it was announced that BMW Group will trial an all-electric MINI in the UK – the MINI E - having won Government backing through the Technology Strategy Board and regional development agency SEEDA. BMW will lead a consortium, including Scottish and Southern Energy and academic partner Oxford Brookes University to evaluate the social, economic and practical issues of living with an electric vehicle. MINI E is already being trialled in the USA and Germany.
In the 41 years between 1959 and 2000, 5.3 million classic Minis were built, so the total when combined with new MINI volume is 6.8 million cars.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Quattroporte 2:06PM (7/06/2009)
I wouldn't mind a lower end model, but for $30,000, I'd rather have a 128i. How much the Fiat 500 (and its dealer markups) will cost is the question.
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zamafir 2:25PM (7/06/2009)
Agreed. The Mini' not practical at all, why not spend the money on an equally impractical but a lot more fun 128i. And that 500 can’t come soon enough.
Olivier Parent 2:28PM (7/06/2009)
Ehm, how can you compare a mini or a fiat 500 to a 128i ? The topspec mini stops at 210 hp and the fiat at 160 hp, respectively in JCW or Abarth guises with small 1.6 or 1.4 turbo engines and FWD. The 128 has 230 hp, 6-cylinder and RWD and is larger. $30 grand is for a full-option model. The fiat will be significantly cheaper than a similar mini. And a mini is a lot cheaper than a similar 1-series (even though 4-cylinder hatchback - 116i, 118i and 120i - versions are not available in the US).
Bloke 2:41PM (7/06/2009)
Olivier - I was thinking the same thing. The 500 is an A-segment hatch, the Mini a B-segment, and the 1-series a C-segment.
Still, I suppose to some people, if it's smaller than a Sherman tank, it doesn't matter.
zamafir 2:57PM (7/06/2009)
@Bloke - It looks like the discussion is more focused on price and prospective price, not simply hatch class classification. Americans don't, and haven't ever, conformed to European buying habits, if they did, they'd probably be less keen to purchase a B segment hatch with the usable interior space of an A. The 500 is an apt comparison, it's retro, attempts to be upscale, and who knows may grace 30k in its top spec. Looking at price, the 128i’s inclusion isn’t that difficult to comprehend.
A and B spec arguments are all fine and good across the pond but the preponderance of discussions on this site tend to relate to north America (hence the 500 and 128 comments you’re referring to), and in North America the Mini’s utility as a hatch hasn’t sold it, the cute looks have.
Bloke 3:20PM (7/06/2009)
Zamafir - all three vehicles concerned are European (come to think of it). So regardless of how Americans buy cars, you're still going to come to the same issues when comparing a 1-series, a Mini, and a 500. Those issues being:
The 500 will be the smallest vehicle. The Mini is next up in size. The 1-series, next up in size from there.
The 1-series will likely have by far the largest engine capacities and the most powerful. Next up, the Mini, which, being B-segment, should have anything from a 1.2 to a 1.8 showehorned underneath. Finally, you'll be lucky to see anything larger than a 1400cc under the bonnet of any A-segment, with only the odd exception.
The 1-series will likely be the most expensive. The Mini will have a far lower starting price point, although the most powerful models will encroach in base 1-series pricing territory - but nowhere near the 1-series coupes. The 500's starting price will be significantly less than the Mini.
This all exists in European vehicles because of our class segment. So, if you're going to cross-shop a 500 with a 1-series, please, please don't be surprised to find that the 1-series is a) larger, b) more powerful, and c) more expensive. Common sense really - at least our variety of common sense.
Alternatively, lets pitch everything together based on retro looks - in which case you may as well compare the Mini with a Camaro.
Bloke 3:28PM (7/06/2009)
Oh - and if you guys pay 128i coupe money for any non-Works Mini or Fiat 500, you're being taken for a mug.
zamafir 4:22PM (7/06/2009)
"This all exists in European vehicles because of our class segment. So, if you're going to cross-shop a 500 with a 1-series, please, please don't be surprised to find that the 1-series is a) larger, b) more powerful, and c) more expensive. Common sense really - at least our variety of common sense. "
I'm not entirely sure who you're preaching to here. Again, we're discussing this from an American perspective, as it's an American blog, and the original comment you and I are replying to is american in focus. No one's surprised the 1 series is larger in length, more powerful, or more expensive. The Common sense, to any European or American consumer, is that it may just be worth going with the 1 series when an optioned Mini has no issues surpassing the 128 in price.
All the additional paragraphs you've provided have no baring in a market where people simply purchase a Mini, 1 series, or a 500 as a 3rd or fourth car simply because they look cute, or are smaller than the typical American is used to. Which is the exact point you're skirting, quite proudly apparently. The European and American buying habits couldn't be more diverse. Here, (In America, where this blog and the comment we're replying to focus/reside) people buy cars like the Mini for fun, buy the 1 series for fun, and will mostly buy the 500 for fun, not for practicality, but simply because it'd be nice to have a 'cute' or 'retro' 2nd, 3rd, or 4th car in the garage. Discussing displacement, performance, and price, all of which all of us are aware of as automotive enthusiasts, and in may cases, subscribers of CAR and EVO, again has zero bearing here.
I guess you're faced with two choices. Continue to argue with no one that three classes exist in Europe for European consumption, or actually engage in the real discussion we're having pertaining to the price differential in America and what impact that has on sales. Not segments which have no bearing of relevance in their distinction to the US market.
So back to the original topic at hand, the Mini with options is a tough pill to simply swallow when it gets so close to the 1 series and will most likely be noticeably more expensive than the 500 when it comes over for the average American who buys any of these vehicles primarily not as a first car in the household but as a cute retro plaything.
Bloke 4:47PM (7/06/2009)
Zamafir - quit your inane babbling. These vehicles were originally DESIGNED primarily to meet various European class segments. Who cares where they're sold? Doesn't automatically change the vehicles' compositions in any substantial manner, does it?
Therefore - a 1-series is going to be a good deal larger, more expensive, and more powerful than a Fiat 500. The Mini, having been designed to accommodate a class segment in between these cars, will come somewhere in between.
If you want to cross-shop a 500 with a 1-series, go ahead, who cares? But the minute you start whinging on about a 500 being smaller, slower and less expensive, then duh ... it's because they were NOT ORIGINALLY designed to compete with one another.
You cannot escape these facts. Deal with it. Good Lord.
Bloke 8:51AM (7/07/2009)
"The Common sense, to any European or American consumer, is that it may just be worth going with the 1 series when an optioned Mini has no issues surpassing the 128 in price."
The people who would pay serious money for a fully optioned Works Cooper will be those who buy into the heritage of the brand and the sporting prowess the original Mini achieved in the hands of the likes of Paddy Hopkirk. It's the same rationale whi brought about the existense of the original Lancer Evo and Impreza WRX - not to mention all of the incarnations, reiterations and spin-offs launched since. A serious Works Cooper enthusiast would not likely even consider buying a BMW 1-series.
Now - assuming you know your stuff Zamafir, that should make perfect sense to you.
MajorGeek 2:13PM (7/06/2009)
My favorite little car. 30k... depends on just how good it is I guess but I just can't do it.
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bssplayr 2:17PM (7/06/2009)
Just pray that the tranny doesn't fail...they're 'replace-only,' and are not serviceable. ~10K, including labour.
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Jsams4131 2:19PM (7/06/2009)
It's still amazing looking at the Mark III mini's and the new Mini Coopers..and see what we consider to be a "small" car these days.
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Otsego_Undead 2:20PM (7/06/2009)
Love my R53. The most fun I've had on 4 wheels. Not to mention one of the most appealing interiors ever.
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zamafir 2:26PM (7/06/2009)
Fun? Agree with you 100%. Interior? Oh hell no. But it is fun :).
k.bullet83 9:44PM (7/06/2009)
Don't mini's have neon motors in them?
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Redline 2:47PM (7/06/2009)
They used to. The new ones are Peugeot/BMW motors. The Cooper S that is. Erm, I'm confused.
inline6 3:02PM (7/06/2009)
Not NA Neons. All NA Neons came with 2.0L engines. I don't think Mini has offered a petrol engine above 1.6L.
And actually, the 128i, 500 Abarth SS, and MINI Cooper S JCW are in similar leagues...except the 128i is MUCH more expensive as standard, and has a poorer power-to-weight ratio than the Fiat and Mini.
128i: 14.1 lbs/hp
500 Abarth SS: 12.8lbs/hp
Cooper S JCW: 11.9lbs/hp
Shawn 3:00PM (7/06/2009)
I have a 2007 Mini Cooper that I bought brand new back in July 2007. I now have over 108,000 miles on the vehicle and it is running strong. I love my Mini. It is my daily driver and provides me with great gas mileage for the 256 miles (round trip) that I drive everyday to work.
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3seriesisking 5:10PM (7/06/2009)
That's one crazy long commute bro. Hope the job is worth it.