. . . according to
WeHo News columnist Todd Bianco it is the MINI Countryman. He backs up his statement with these statements:
Year-to-date, MINI has sold 27,565 cars – that’s behind 2010 year-to-date of 29,704 cars. The 7.2% decrease isn’t a good thing in a market that is seeing most manufacturers post healthy sales gains. So what’s up with the back-slapping and champagne at MINI? One word: Countryman.
* * * The 2011 Countryman (base MSRP $22,350) rides on an all-new platform. Its body is welded to the chassis, so it would be best described as a crossover or CUV. It has 7 air bags and an air curtain system. And its selling like the iPad. Year-to-date sales of the Countryman are nothing short of spectacular at 10,071 units. Although MINI’s August sales were down 30% from 2010, overall sales are up 26.7% year-to-date. The entire increase – 100% – is due to the Countryman which now accounts for more than 30% of MINI’s total sales. Apparently all it took for MINI to expand its appeal was to inject a small wagon with steroids and sprout 4 door. Suddenly Americans take notice.
* * *
Unfortunately, we won’t know exactly how well the new Coupe is selling because its sales will be lumped into that catch-all single line item for “MINI Cooper S car (I).” My guess is that the Countryman will continue to be the growth engine at MINI. It’s the same thing for Porsche.
If you look at its sales, the sports car numbers are dead flat (a new 911 is coming in March) while the sales of the Cayenne SUV have doubled in 2011. The American love affair with SUVs continues…
