MotoringFile has published an article that reveals "The Secret History of the MINI R60 Crossover." Apparently, BMW had a contract with Magna Steyr in Austria for construction of two generations of the X3 crossover but BMW moved production to its South Carolina plant. In order to move production it needed to come up with a crossover vehicle for Magna Steyr to build to fulfill the contract. Thus, BMW created the MINI (soon to be called) Countryman. In essence, MotoringFile tells us there was no consumer demand for a MINI crossover. Rather, it was created by BMW to avoid an expensive breach of contract that would have otherwise occurred when BMW decided to move the location of X3 production.
