MINI Boss Not Sold On A Premium Compact Sedan For Brand - Is He Missing The Big Picture?

Mini sales reached an all-time high in 2015, which is good news and bad news. Records are great but the natural question is whether the BMW Group subsidiary can push volume even higher.

Mini has stopped trying to expand into an array of niches in search of new customers. Instead it has focused on offering five core models, which the British brand calls its "superheroes." Four of the models are set. The question is what Mini will offer as its fifth superhero.

Peter Schwarzenbauer, BMW Group's board member in charge of Mini, knows that adding a sedan would boost volume but could hurt the small-car brand's image. Schwarzenbauer, 56, discussed Mini's options with Automotive News Europe Editor Luca Ciferri and Correspondent Christiaan Hetzner in March on the sidelines of the Geneva auto show.

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MDarringer - 5/2/2016 6:50:08 PM

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The only reason that Mini is searching for models to increase sales volume is because BMW was idiotic for insisting on stand-alone dealers for the Mini brand. If BMW had co-branded Mini in BMW dealers, Mini's sales would be a lot better due to much better market penetration and the search for niche vehicles to keep the dealers open would not be happening.