MINI USA reported sales of 3,109 automobiles in August – down 29.7% from the 4,425 sold in August, 2010. However according to MINI USA, the issue lies with lack of product rather than product not selling. “Lack of inventory slowed MINI sales in August due to our annual model year change over in July,” said Jim McDowell, Vice President – MINI USA. “MINI has been fortunate to maintain a tight supply of inventory and many customers submitted specifications for custom MINIs in August so we are confident this will be reflected in September and October sales continuing our momentum this year.” Year-to-date, MINI sales in the U.S. are up 26.7% on volume of 37,636 compared to 29,704 in the first eight months of 2010. More...
Ours too. I wonder if this is just their way of "spinning" a down month? Either that or the lots are full of models that don't sell as well - for example I'm sure there is plenty of demand for All4 Countrymen and the new coupe. Still, overall they're having a good year, and there's more goodness to come with the new coupe and roadster, then the "Paceman" (what a stupid name) and "Rocketman" (another only slightly less dumb name) Fresh product keeps folks coming in the doors......
Whatever the reason for down sales, that excuse doesn't cut it. He said himself that it's an annual model year change, so last August should have had the same effect (and affected even more because MINI was introducing the mid-cycle refresh a year ago).
Hate to tell them: the economy sucks... ...other than that, Mini may be reaching it's saturation point, especially considering some of the new competition and some questionable reliability issues.... Great, so called service treatment is one thing but if most are like me; reliable means that I'll never develop a personal relationship with my service advisor.