/ 9 January 2006

Mini grows with introduction of new model

BMW’s cult car the Mini Cooper is getting bigger with the introduction of a fourth model designed to look like a sports utility vehicle, the automaker said on Monday.

The broader, chunkier version will hit the global market in less than three years, BMW said at the unveiling of an early concept model at the Detroit auto show.

Global sales are expected to reach somewhere between 5 000 and 10 000 vehicles in the first year, Mini vice-president Jim McDowell said on the sidelines of the show.

The wider carriage will offer more storage space and a roomier interior, but will stay true to the styling and diminutive size that have made the Mini Cooper an icon, McDowell said.

”We would never build a Mini that didn’t drive like a Mini,” he said. ”It has to have that go-cart feel.”

The new model will complement Mini’s existing offerings: the standard Mini Cooper, the Mini convertible and the higher-powered Mini Cooper S.

It will be built at Mini’s facility in Oxford, United Kingdom, McDowell said.

The announcement came just hours after BMW said global sales of the Mini brand had surpassed the 200 000-vehicle mark for the first time after demand grew by 8,7%.

BMW’s Mini brand is expected to continue to expand, said Tom Purves, chairperson of BMW United States.

”Some 60% of Mini sales are the 168-horsepower Cooper S model, and 70% of Mini buyers earn over $75 000 a year and spend an average of $5 000 in options on their car,” he told reporters.

”These are premium buyers of a premium car,” he said. ”Mini categorically proves that in the world of premium cars, size doesn’t matter.” — Sapa-AFP