[mayankjha1806]

India is to a certain degree a size oriented market, for 7L+ we expect the car to have a boot, if its any smaller it needs to be cheaper as well. Possibly one of the reasons Jazz and other premium hatchbacks did not do very well initially.

The same reason VW Beetle's failure.

Mini for 25L would be only toys for the rich and have money to spare. The common junta like me will look for "What am i getting" in the 25L price.

The other reason for some of these failures could be that folks know what it costs to buy a car like this in US and aren't ready to shell out twice that much in India.

[suhaas307]

There is an ulterior motive behind the Mini's entry by BMW in India.

The car is not expected to set the sales charts on fire. What the Mini will do is get prospective customers to arrive at BMW showrooms all over the country where they will showcase their new Mini-based 1-Series, which will not be a CBU. It will be assembled in India, thereby ensuring that the cost of the car would be kept under 20 lakhs.

BMW is not interested in making the Mini a sales-success. It is a mere jewel, a showpiece that is expected to garner crowds and direct them towards the 1-Series, which is expected to be BMW's volume car in the next few years.

The Mini is to BMW, what the 500 is to Fiat and the Beetle is to VW, (in India). It is the car that will draw the crowds and help sell their other products!

Great move by BMW, I'd say!

[Anarchy83]

Mixed feelings about this car actually. This is the cult classic which has stood the test of time - kinda like Madonna, if she didn't look like the crypt-keeper. Having said that, the Mini has been getting better looking with age.

I assume they're gonna be launching the 1.6 litre, 4 Cylinder version. Now, this is a pretty smart car for India. In Oman, my friend had a Mini Cooper, and he was getting around 13 km/l mileage in the city, and over 16 km/l on longer drives. The car is extremely smart-sized (read, capable of zipping through tight spots in Bangalore traffic) and the boot space is decent (approx. 150 litres worth). My crib would be that the back seat is irritating for me. I'm not a very tall person (5'8"), but I felt like I was jailed.

Then again, personally, I'm a SUV guy. Coming from that mind-set, I hated how low this car feels. From a speed perspective, I don't know many cars of this size and in this price range that can reach 100 kmph in under 8 seconds. Will I pay 25 lakhs for those 8 seconds or less? No, I would not.

Bottom Line - If this car stops at a club valet parking spot, and you get out, a couple of things are guaranteed.

1) The ladies are gonna wonder why they aren't dating you
2) You'll develop a bit of a British accent, and you'll feel that much closer to Bond...James Bond (or Rowan Atkinson - take your pick)

[2cents]

Originally Posted by suhaas307

BMW is not interested in making the Mini a sales-success. It is a mere jewel, a showpiece that is expected to garner crowds and direct them towards the 1-Series, which is expected to be BMW's volume car in the next few years.

The Mini is to BMW, what the 500 is to Fiat and the Beetle is to VW, (in India). It is the car that will draw the crowds and help sell their other products!

No offence bro! But that's one hell-o-va convoluted conspiracy theory. A Mini to promote the big B! It's a looker for sure, but just that buyers in that segment are well informed to need a Mini motivation to go for a BMW.

Its a welcome move if they are serious about 1'. Although a hatch, the 1 is roughly the dimensions of a Laura. But I just don't get the idea if the Mini is going to be a CBU for eternity, and I seriously doubt it will be. Agreed, good amount of brand building is involved. But most likely that's to promote the Mini itself when production/assembly starts locally and gets cheaper.

[suhaas307]

Originally Posted by 2cents

No offence bro! But that's one hell-o-va convoluted conspiracy theory. A Mini to promote the big B! It's a looker for sure, but just that buyers in that segment are well informed to need a Mini motivation to go for a BMW.

Its a welcome move if they are serious about 1'. Although a hatch, the 1 is roughly the dimensions of a Laura. But I just don't get the idea if the Mini is going to be a CBU for eternity, and I seriously doubt it will be. Agreed, good amount of brand building is involved. But most likely that's to promote the Mini itself when production/assembly starts locally and gets cheaper.

None taken!

I'm not sure if you read my post carefully.

You see, BMW doesn't need 'brand-building' in India. What they might need, especially for the 1-Series, is product building. Trying to sell a 20 lakh hatchback in India is a tough task. Why do you think you don't find 20 lakh hatchbacks being sold here? The Beetle, the Fiat 500 and the Mini aren't hatchbacks per se. They are niche products targeted at the well-off who don't mind shelling out a little extra for a brand ad a name tag.

The VW Beetle was introduced in India, not because they wanted it to be their volume car. Now VW is a pretty renowned brand all over the world, and is pretty popular in India as well. But they needed a launch-pad. Something that will get them recognized on a nation-wide platform instantaneously. And that's why they introduced the Beetle here in India.

Fiat too, is a world renowned brand. Despite their rough patch, they wanted to build their brand and their products in our country. What better way to do this, than introduce their most iconic car of all time, the 500?

The same goes for the Mini. The Mini needs no real introduction. It's an icon in the car world. It's arguably the most renowned car ever made. It has appeared in several movies, in both, it's retro and modern avatars. The Mini would be the perfect launch pad for BMW in the volume segment, which will be headed by the 1-Series hatch (and possibly a sedan based on the same).

What the Mini will do, is draw the crowds to the showrooms, where BMW will showcase their volume cars in the future. Those interested in buying the CBU Mini, will buy it. But those who perhaps cannot afford it, but want something similar, will have the heavily-localized 1-Series shouting for their attention.

It's as simple as that.

[Positron]

Originally Posted by Anarchy83

1) The ladies are gonna wonder why they aren't dating you
2) You'll develop a bit of a British accent, and you'll feel that much closer to Bond...James Bond (or Rowan Atkinson - take your pick)

YA, YA, YA - more German than Bond, they are BMW after all.

And I doubt if girls are going to be impressed to see someone getting out of one of these Minis. Minis are proper girly cars for girls here in Europe. The old classic Mini (pre-1990) would be a geeky / car enthusiast man car, but new BMW minis are totally girly cars.

[Anarchy83]

Originally Posted by Positron

YA, YA, YA - more German than Bond, they are BMW after all.

And I doubt if girls are going to be impressed to see someone getting out of one of these Minis. Minis are proper girly cars for girls here in Europe. The old classic Mini (pre-1990) would be a geeky / car enthusiast man car, but new BMW minis are totally girly cars.

Aha, a gentleman with an eye for detail!!! Tis my pleasure to point out that the Mini was originally manufactured by the British Motor Corporation (started sometime in 1960) till 1999-2000. In between, our good friend Cooper, of the Cooper car company decided,"Hey, I design formula 1 cars for fun. Why don't I take this micro-mini and turn it into a deadly weapon of mass fornication".

Therein was spawned the demon offspring of a British 1960s cult classic and thoroughbred formula 1 muscle, the Mini Cooper - and there has been no turning back since.

Calling this pristine example of motoring poetry a "girly" car, is insulting generations of motorheads. Case in point, some examples of people who drive the Mini Cooper are:

a) Wayne Rooney
b) Jason Statham
c) Mos Def
d) Will Smith

...and so on. Kindly manly list there. Something is definitely wrong with Europe's gender perceptions...but then again, the star of Twilight is from Europe anyways, so no comments.

[HKap]

I am not sure if it will be a CBU model. I remember reading in autocar that Mini will be assembling the cars in Chennai

[rohitm]

Originally Posted by Positron

YA, YA, YA - more German than Bond, they are BMW after all.

And I doubt if girls are going to be impressed to see someone getting out of one of these Minis. Minis are proper girly cars for girls here in Europe. The old classic Mini (pre-1990) would be a geeky / car enthusiast man car, but new BMW minis are totally girly cars.

Girly car -- blah, that to me is an extreme view!

Agreed the original mini was a cute cuddly car, but the resurrected MINI especially BMW's "MINI Cooper S" take to my mind is a sophisticated and well groomed beast if you will.

Agreed for those who are brought up on SUVs, MINI will always seem lacking, but to the sauve city male it can certainly be a fun and practical car. Take the convertible variant and cruise round the city street attracting attention for girls all day!

Does all of this add up in the Indian car context - it sure as hell does - but for one fatal flaw - proposed pricing that is. Else i do not see why the MINI cannot be the car for young adult, sauve metro sexual male, for the young family and even the elders at home.

This is exactly the position which a car inspired by MINI has taken up on India roads - Maruti Suzuki Swift.

[vij]

Guys, its the Mini Countryman (bigger car) that's going to be closer to 25L. The Mini Cooper S Hatch Petrol basic could be around 19L on road. Good price to own a mini. I wonder if it can stand apart from the Swift. Could get lost amongst the countless Swifts.

If the pricing is about 18-19L on road I might think about it.

Originally Posted by HKap

I am not sure if it will be a CBU model. I remember reading in autocar that Mini will be assembling the cars in Chennai

The announcement is that it will start as a CBU and later be manufactured at the Chennai plant if things look good.

[suhaas307]

Originally Posted by vij

Guys, its the Mini Countryman (bigger car) that's going to be closer to 25L. The Mini Cooper S Hatch Petrol basic could be around 19L on road. Good price to own a mini. I wonder if it can stand apart from the Swift. Could get lost amongst the countless Swifts.

People with eyes will not mistake the Mini for a Swift. Trust me!

I've seen both, the Swift and the Mini, side by side, and the only design element that's similar is the 'floating-roof' thanks to the wrap-around glass-house. The new Mini is a wider car. It's shorter too and it has a better stance than the Swift. It looks fabulous IMO. And with just two doors, that are pretty long themselves, it's quite different too.

I love the Mini. I want it to be sold here in India, and I want to see more of them around! It's such an icon!

[Enigmatic]

I love the mini more than the beetel or the fiat 500 for the simple reason that a guy can drive it without felling like a girl No offences to anyone though.
But at this price i dont think its a good move .
Its fine to charge a premiun of 2 or 3 lakhs , heck even 5 lakhs is acceptable but charging more than double the cost of the car in other markets is just criminal according to me .

[2cents]

Came across this news article today in The Hindu.

Excerpt:
On the expected price of the car, he said: “We have not finalised the price of the car yet, but it is a premium brand and a premium car. Of course, the entry price will be more than Rs 25 lakh.”

Mr. Schaaf said exclusive Mini showrooms will be set up in India. “As a first step, we will have two dealerships in Delhi and one in Mumbai. In total, we will have 12 dealerships across the country in the coming years. As per plans, in 2013 we will add 3-4 dealers followed by 3 more dealerships in 2014,” Mr. Schaaf said.

CBU obviously, but no mention about long term plans.

[vij]

Originally Posted by 2cents

Came across this news article today in The Hindu.

Excerpt:
On the expected price of the car, he said: “We have not finalised the price of the car yet, but it is a premium brand and a premium car. Of course, the entry price will be more than Rs 25 lakh.”

Mr. Schaaf said exclusive Mini showrooms will be set up in India. “As a first step, we will have two dealerships in Delhi and one in Mumbai. In total, we will have 12 dealerships across the country in the coming years. As per plans, in 2013 we will add 3-4 dealers followed by 3 more dealerships in 2014,” Mr. Schaaf said.

CBU obviously, but no mention about long term plans.

Did he say entry level will be above 25L.. so on road 30L small car. That sucks because it could mean the really small and basic Mini One hatch could be at that price point and that would mean the more practical Mini Cooper countryman will be over 30L ex showroom. Even if one wants it in 2012 at that insulting price, they will have to be in Mumbai or Delhi. Very bad indeed!

[avishar]

Thats quite a bummer.Somehow i dont think they are going to price it that high,because if they do,then supporting 12 dealerships exclusively through Mini sales makes no business sense.A normal BMW showroom sells anywhere between 150-250 cars a year depending on the city they are in,Mini at 25 lakh wont sell more than 20-25 a month and thats being very optimistic.