Mini E to be phased out in a year, Coupe goes on sale this fall
When asked about the arrival of the production Coupe and Roadster at the 2011 Detroit Auto Show, Mini Communication Manager Nathalie Bauters told us that the Mini Coupe “will go on sale in the fall, probably as a 2012 model year. The Roadster will come six months later as a 2012 or 2013 model.”
What won’t ever make the retail playground is the Mini E. “It will not go on sale, it was for research,” she said. Some of the leases on the first year trial for consumers and electric companies have been extended to a second year, but the end of the second year will mark the phase out of the program. A lease program with the 1 Series-based BMW Active E will follow, also to gather intelligence on electric cars, with both programs helping to prepare for the arrival of the BMW Megacity.
Mini: “The 500 is a darling little car… but we’re a premium brand”
Mini showed off the Paceman Concept at this year’s Detroit Auto Show and announced not long afterward that it would spawn a production model. Tom Salkowski, who recently moved from BMW USA to Mini USA to fill the role of marketing manager, will be the man charged with getting the word about about Mini’s eighth model and the ones beyond. Here’s what he had to tell us.
The small car segment has erupted over the past couple of years and “Mini has prospered” even though it “faced significantly more competition.” But when asked what kind of head-to-head competitors the brand thinks it faces, Salkowski said “maybe Volkswagen, Mazda, Scion in the small-car segment,” with the caveat that since “Mini is very much a mindset, it’s different than other vehicles,” so “for the time being we don’t see anything.” Head of product management Oliver Friedmann confirmed the assessment with, “We don’t see any one-to-one competition, maybe the Evoque could be” for the Countryman.
* Salkowski offered his thoughts on the Fiat 500 with, “The 500 is a darling little car, but Mini is a premium brand.”
* On the discussion of roots and heritage at other emotional brands like BMW and Lotus, when asked how big the Mini brand and Mini cars could get and still be considered Minis, Friedmann said, “That’s what we try to find out at the moment. We just jumped over the four-meter line with the Countryman,” but reaction in the three months that the crossover has been on sale in Europe has been “very positive.”
Detroit 2011: Mini Paceman Concept gets all the girls
Mini’s model line is expanding at an exponential rate, and according to BMW’s smallest division, the Paceman Concept will form the basis of its eighth production vehicle. Even if that’s the case, nothing resembling the Paceman is going to beat either the Mini Coupe or Roadster to market, which are expected to hit dealers in late 2011 and 2012, respectively.
What we have in the Paceman is basically a Countryman that’s been relieved of its two rear doors and granted a gradually sloping roofline. Yes, that will indeed limit the machine’s versatility, but it also adds a sporty vibe to the somewhat high-riding crossover.
Categories: Concept Cars, coupe, Crossovers/CUVs, Detroit Auto Show, Detroit Motor Show, Mini Tags: Detroit Auto Show
Paris Preview: Mini’s electric scooter comes into view
Mini’s given us an almost true-to-life view of its Scooter E Concept, and while there’s a little too much going on up front, the overall design stands to look quite all right in person. There’s some serious action going on around the wheels, so as its “E” designation would suggest, motivation will be provided by two electric motors. We’ll get up close with it at next week’s Paris show, and since there’s nothing a mod in overalls and flight boots won’t help, we’ll expect to see her there, too.
Categories: Auto Show, Mini, Paris Motor Show Tags: Mini
Bring On the Dune Buggy: Mini production reportedly halted over lack of doors
Attention all workers at the Cowley Mini plant in Oxford, England: Do not report to work today unless you know how to repair a door press. According to the Witney Gazette, the historic Mini factory is currently on standby due to a dead door press that has all workers at home early for the Easter break, which lasts until Wednesday, April 7. While we’re sure workers are happy for the extra time off, they will have to use vacation time to make up for the lost production. We’re guessing that solution wouldn’t fly at United Auto Workers headquarters, but then again, union membership here in the States isn’t exactly flourishing.
The vehicle assembly plant doesn’t even make the door panels; that job falls on the Swindon body panel factory. There is no word at this time whether the unscheduled shutdown will affect Mini production long-term.
