Mini’s success is helping BMW to take a global lead in sales. BMW is planning to launch new models under the Mini brand to increase the product portfolio. Mini is planning to increase its product range to 10 by introducing a compact SUV, a small sports car and a sedan. The Mini Countryman’s success in global markets has motivated Mini to work on a compact SUV. The Countryman has contributed to 30 percent of the company’s global sales which is just a little less than that contributed by the Mini hatchback. The British automaker has recently introduced its seventh model, Paceman, which is a three-door model based on the Countryman.
Mini is also working on a smaller hatchback for global markets, which they had earlier explored with the 2011 Rocketman Concept that proved to be unsuccessful in terms of pricing to the company. Apart from this, Mini is also working on a small sports car which will be an affordable option for the customers, who love to drive a powerful car. The company is also looking forward to roll out a sedan for the Chinese market where the sales figures were quite good in the past few months. Currently, Mini offers four models in India which are Mini Cooper, Mini Cooper S , Mini Cooper Convertible and Mini Cooper S Countryman.
BMW will debut its first front-wheel drive Concept, Active Tourer, in Paris Motor Show, which will help in the positioning of Mini. The future models of Mini will share the Active Tourer platform and will be powered with a 1.5-litre three-cylinder petrol engine. The production models of the same will be rolled out next year and it will compete with the recently launched Mercedes-Benz B-Class, which too is a front-wheel drive car. So we look forward to some more iconic and affordable cars from the German manufacturer in the coming years.
Source – Inside Line
