MINI Coupe, Roadster Axed?



MINI has some big changes scheduled for its lineup, and the current Coupe and Roadster aren’t a part of the picture.

The British automaker plans on building 18 models off its two new architectures within the next five years, with a new sports car to succeed the current Coupe and Roadster models. Though the vehicle will share MINI’s new front-wheel-drive architecture, the new sports car will look entirely different than what’s currently offered in the Coupe and Roadster.
The planned model will be offered in both hard- and soft-top variants in Cooper S and John Cooper Works (JCW) form when it’s introduced in late 2015 or early 2016. Both the Coupe and Roadster have been struggling in the sales department, not even moving 15,000 units a year. Recently, MINI unveiled its Vision concept which hints at what we can expect in its new sports car, which will undoubtedly borrow some of the carbon-fiber technology BMW has invested in its new i3 electric car.

 

Here's something I don't say often about the direction of MINI styling: I like the look of that Vision concept.

I hope they produce a hot hatch like that, as well as a sports car a la the Triumph concept they floated several years ago, to compete with the MX-5 and BRZ. I know it's a tough market, but the MINI brand depends upon enthusiast excitement, something that has waned over the last several years.

What scares me is that sluggish sales of the Coupe and Roadster will convince the brass at MINI that enthusiast car production is not where the money is, and that they'll focus on larger vehicles with broader appeal. This is a false truth. A really good, unique enthusiast car that looks and performs better than the likes of MX-5 and BRZ will sell, and perpetuate the brand long-term. Broad-appeal cars (larger, more utilitarian) might ****** a small percent of a broader market and look good in short-term sales statistics, but will dilute the enthusiasm for the brand.

 

Not if you look at the sales figures. The Countryman has been the best-selling MINI twice in recent months. I think its sales were higher than all other models (except the Hardtop) combined!

The enthusiast market is, like it or not, limited. They are indeed appealing to the larger audience, and it shows with higher sales figures.

 

Yes, this is intuitively true, however, with a niche brand like MINI who do not manufacture bomb-proof econo-movers as well as Toyota or Honda, they need the enthusiast vehicle to support the sales of their mainstream vehicles. People start by buying and getting excited about the quirky niche cars, and subsequently buy the mainstream offering from the same manufacturer. A model for this is Porsche with their SUV. They do this not because it's a better vehicle than the competitors, but because customers are loyal to the brand due to the enthusiast offerings. If MINI were to offer only mainstream vehicles, they would hold a tiny and static fraction of market share. If they manufacture world-class enthusiast vehicles (like the R53), they will grow sales because of brand enthusiasm.

Look at automotive brands that don't have aspirational vehicles in their line (or best-in-class quality): Mercury, Saturn, Buick, Lincoln. Not doing so well, eh?

The Countryman may outsell many of the 'niche' (read: enthusiast) MINI vehicles, but that's as much due to the weakness of the current 'niche' vehicles, and not because they are taking significant market share in mainstream vehicles.