BMW Aims to Double MINI Sales

BMW is set to double its Australian sales, from 2,000 cars each year to 4,000 cars. This decision comes as part of the global plan to reach 500,000 cars a year. At this moment, MINI sells 250,000 vehicles each year.

As part of this plan, MINI intends to launch new vehicles based on the crossover and on the roadster concepts. It is also very probable that BMW will introduce diesel engines in the Clubman and Cabrio MINIs for Australia.

“If there is enough demand then it will eventually happen,” says BMW Australia managing director Stavros Yallouridis. “The more we go in the direction of diesel engines with sports cars, then I think in the new product lifecycle you might see a diesel engine in these models. But it is all dependent on demand and production capacity.”

Other plans of MINI Australia include importing a small number of MINI E. The MINI E is an electric car which is currently leased by MINI in countries like the US, Germany and, as of today, in the United Kingdom.

“In the current environment anything electric or hybrid is hot in Australia right now … and the reality is we want to go forward in terms of minimising fuel use and emissions, and if we brought in a Mini E into the country it would be a big buzz. But unfortunately we haven’t had the opportunity to, we have been restricted by numbers and we are on a strict testing (regime) with customers to see how the technology is working.”