In this
brandchannel article Abe Sauer contends MINI is going hard at the Chinese market -
Now, BMW is opening China's first ever MINI dealership, announcing that the vehicle's Chinese sales had increased 46 percent in the first nine months of 2012, totaling to 17,256 units.
Sauer asserts there is a Chinese market competition between the MINI, the VW Beetle and the Fiat 500 that MINI wants to win. Citing James Roy, who he claims is a senior analyst with China Market Research Group, Sauer reports the MINI is positioned as a luxury item above the VW Beetle:
"It's a very good looking, stylish car that's easy to use," says Roy, summing up MINI in China." Roy sees one of the MINI brand's advantages i that is perceived as convenient and "an easy car to handle." In China, MINI could even be a couple's second car, a car a wife might zip around in since the BMW or Audi sedan is too large and unwieldy.
Another advantage is MINI's sporty image that says something about the driver's quirky individualism, in keeping with its "Not Normal" tagline. Chinese consumers are increasingly developing individual tastes and a desire to stand out and display a creative flair. Indeed, on Chinese roads crammed with black Audis and BMWs, silver Benzes and more black Audis, a MINI stand out, especially since many are custom-painted.
It's also well positioned as a lifestyle brand to attract young Chinese consumers who have taken to a form of Japan's "kawaii" Hello-Kitty "culture of cute." You might say that MINI is poised to become a major hit in China — provided it doesn't make any big mistakes.
