Munich. It’s often the small things from “good old
Europe” that give Americans pleasure: Swiss Army knives for example,
French macaroons or the MINI. 15 years ago the first of the small
British cars conquered the cities and highways of the USA. The
extraordinary success story began with the launch of the MINI Cooper
and the MINI Cooper S in March 2002 and it is set to continue. More
than 725 000 cars of the premium brand have been registered in the US
to date. More than 20 per cent of all new cars of the brand sold
worldwide provide uniquely distinctive driving fun on American roads.
The MINI already made the jump across the Atlantic only a few
months after it was launched in Europe. The new concept of offering
high-grade technology and premium quality in small car format appealed
to the popular taste of demanding target groups right from the start.
Even in the land of the road cruiser, the MINI came to embody
efficient driving fun, expressive visual appeal and individual style
straight off the bat.
Within only a few years, the US became the most important
individual market for the brand worldwide. And the MINI fanbase
continues to grow from New York to Los Angeles. The unbroken
enthusiasm for hallmark MINI driving fun has also been confirmed by
independent experts. The MINI brand in the USA took first place in the
J.D. Power Associates customer satisfaction index six times already.
The ongoing expansion of the model range also contributed to the
continuously growing popularity of the brand. The MINI Convertible
became a bestseller, above all on the sunny West Coast. With the
introduction of the MINI Countryman, the brand established itself in
the premium compact segment and also among completely new target
groups. The new model now offered new ways of experiencing the special
MINI feeling thanks to five doors, five seats and all-wheel drive.
Currently the MINI 3 door, the MINI 5 door and the MINI Convertible
are also creating added diversity in the US small car segment, while
the new MINI Countryman is delivering driving fun to the compact class.
Parallel to the expansion of the model range and sales success,
the MINI dealer network in the US has also grown. The launch year saw
66 active sales and service centres between the East and West Coast,
now MINI customers have 127 dealers in 39 states to choose from.
The unique “MINI Takes the States” community event is another
symbol of the success of the brand in the US. The two-week cross
country rallye attracted more than 4 000 MINI drivers last year alone
to take part in at least one stage from Atlanta in Georgia to Palm
Springs in California. No less than 900 MINI enthusiasts covered the
entire distance of nearly 4 400 miles. Apart from all the driving fun
involved and the sense of community, a focus was also put on a social
aspect. During the course of the tour money donations for the Feeding
America charity organisation were collected. At the end of the tour
the donations financed 1.3 million meals for people in need in
different parts of the country.
MINI achieved its latest success on the Daytona racetrack in
Florida. The MINI JCW Team took the first win in the street tuner
class in the Continental Tire Sport Car Challenge racing series
straight off. The racecar, based on the MINI John Cooper Works and
raced by the LAP Motorsports Team, won the four-hour long-distance
race entirely in the style of its historic example. Just like the
classic Mini, which won the last of its three overall victories at the
Rallye Monte Carlo 50 years ago, the MINI John Cooper Works was
victorious on the Daytona International Speedway thanks to its
reliability, efficiency and agility, beating numerous larger
competitors with more powerful engines in the
process.
For further details on official fuel
consumption figures, official specific CO2 emissions and power
consumption of new cars, please refer to the “Manual on fuel
consumption, CO2 emissions and power consumption of new cars,
available at all sales outlets, from Deutschen Automobil Treuhand GmbH
(DAT), Hellmuth-Hirth-Str. 1, 73760 Ostfildern-Scharnhausen and at http://www.dat.de/angebote/verlagsprodukte/leitfaden-kraftstoffverbrauch.html.
Manual CO2 (PDF ‒ 2.7 MB)
