Can anyone confirm that Mini either is/is not exhibiting at the 2023 North American International Auto Show, aka "Detroit Auto Show"?

They are listed as an exhibitor.

I was there this past Thursday (Sept. 14) for second of two Industry Tech Days previews. I didn't spend much time in the public exhibit area, I was there to explore the sideshows (Automobili-D, Automobili-D Startups) those two days with startups, suppliers, technology companies, educational institutions, etc. and to hear what Malcolm Gladwell had to say. (Nice Elon Musk diss...)

But Mini seemed missing. I inquired at the BMW booth and they had no idea, emphasizing that it's a different division.

Maybe there's another floor I missed, or maybe some vendors were to set-up late in the exhibit hall where the Tech Days stuff was?

Excited about upcoming electric offerings, which I'd heard a bit about from a dealer last year.

Show runs through this coming Sunday 9/24, I'll go back down there and dodge strikers if Mini is there...

I dunno that electric Fiat was looking mighty good!

Exciting upcoming electric stuff is standard for bidirectional charging has just been approved. I heard only current vehicle with bidirectional is Nissan Leaf, but the industry is definitely going that way Bidirectional means the ability to use your vehicle's battery to power your house, worksite, or to sell power back to the grid. At least one exhibitor was touting a solution for selling power you loaded up with at cheap overnight rates while at the office.

Makes a lot of sense, electric cars have a very expensive asset in batteries that are idle most of the time. A high-end Tesla would power my small house for a week! And I'm in the Detroit area, and we have a really unreliable electric grid - with typically several multi-day outages each winter. Sure would be great to just plug in the car, rather than a generator or another set of expensive batteries. (1 100kw Tesla car = EIGHT PowerWalls!)

Speaking of unions, IBEW (electrical worker's union) has a booth to help inform the public, and well-aware of upcoming bidirectional charging. They are eyeing that development hungrily!

Happy to report back with photos if they are there!

 

BMW and MINI pulled out years ago, i used to go all the time. They used to have a big booth.

BMW might be back but MINI has focused on the Los angles auto show now last i heard,

 

BMW was definitely there. Small area in a "foreign car" area dominated by Stellantis.

 

Do you have pictures?

 

Looks like they were downstairs?





In the old show they were upstairs and had a big booth, This looks like a local dealer brought some cars.


VS Back in the day. That's corporate level!









Here is the old MINI NAIAS Pictures

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...rchid=20559732