Following closely on the heels of its 50th birthday, MINI is once again celebrating a major milestone, this time the production of its 1.5 millionth vehicle since the brand re-launched in 2001. MINI’s 1.5 millionth vehicle was a Chili Red Clubman destined for the UK market.
BMW’s re-launch of the MINI brand has been a major success, with the classic British marque now sold in more than 80 countries around the globe. Production of the new MINI began in Oxford in 2001.
“The Mini has been a symbol of British design and engineering for 50 years, and I am delighted to hear that it continues to succeed today,” BMW board member Ian Lucas said. “Part of the longevity of the Mini has come from the company’s ability to innovate – the redesign that was launched in 2001, the focus on reducing CO2, and the electric Minis that over the next year we will be seeing on the streets as part of the Government’s Low Carbon Vehicles Demonstrator.”
Mini produced 5.3 million vehicles between 1959 and 2000, bringing the total number of Mini vehicles produced to 6.8 million.
07/06, 4:45 PM
posted by:
A4
1.5 million and they still cant build them right
07/06, 4:46 PM
posted by:
A4
then again, i guess that is a symbol of British design and engineering.
07/06, 4:55 PM
posted by:
Borat
This is not bad for very expensive car. BMW knows a thing or two about marketing and car manufacturing.
07/06, 5:14 PM
posted by:
Impulsive
BINGO !!!!! That’s a lot of unreliable crap that’s overpriced and underengineered.
07/06, 5:15 PM
posted by:
sprockkets
Contrary to what you think A4, Mini’s have high reliability. Go figure.
Besides, how many other vehicles can command such a high price and sell, not to mention one of the highest resale values?
07/06, 5:21 PM
posted by:
johnnycanuck
Man, If your club is Chile Red you need to slow it down and loosen your grip.
07/06, 6:21 PM
posted by:
howsmydriving
Just to put things in perspective, Chrysler has sold way more than 1 million PT Cruisers, launched just a short time before Mini was launched.
07/06, 6:55 PM
posted by:
A4
sprockkets, MINI’s have pretty poor reliability and overall quality.
07/06, 8:34 PM
posted by:
sprockkets
CR says otherwise. And if they did have poor quality, their resale value wouldn’t be as good as it is either.
07/07, 1:51 AM
posted by:
leftwingagenda
yeah, the reliability police over at consumer reports constantly rate minis “above average”, although you can clearly see some areas where they had issues, and minis typically have good resale value…i did a little googling and the jd power folks have minis rated pretty low for reliability, but they were rated 7.8/10 overall…
as far as the pt cruiser comparison goes, omg lol…we all know those suck, so who cares how many there are? many of those were purchased by rental car companies, too, so you’re not comparing apples to apples…totally different buyers, different market segment, different price, different everything…not comperable…
07/07, 7:58 AM
posted by:
West Ryder Lunatic
Give me a Fiat 500 Please =]
07/07, 9:18 AM
posted by:
Need more oil for GM
1.499 million of them will be in the junkyard by the next decade. BMW quality and reliability at its finest!
General Motors. An American Revolution
07/07, 12:19 PM
posted by:
mulletmaster
How British is a BMW?
I wonder if a MINI is more reliable than a VW?
07/07, 1:35 PM
posted by:
beatusmongous
LWA, PT Cruisers and Minis actually perform about the same (or at least my Cruiser did). I used to race a Cooper S on the way to work every day, and the winner was whoever got the jump off the line at Russell and Las Vegas Blvd (never by more than a car length). We stayed even all the way on to the freeway the whole time. It was weird. Even in the turns, I would hold the line right next to the Cooper S. I think the only place he had me beat was braking, but we never really did that. So the comparison may be a bit fairer than you imagine.
However, the market demographic is definitely different. No argument there.