MINI can’t build models expensive enough for its customers, Car Dealer has discovered.
That’s why the John Cooper Works brand has been taken in-house – to develop into a sort of M-style subdivision. It seems customers are crying out for such dearer, more bespoke MINIS.
The list price of a Cooper S Works is already pretty high, at around £21k. But that’s not too much for many buyers – who are delighting dealers by speccing up the cars to, in some cases, not far shy of £30,000!
What’s more, MINI dealers also report amazement at some of the part exchanges they’re getting in. Faster, more expensive sports cars, high-end saloon cars – even Porsche Cayennes.
‘The people buying it want a sports car, but with more economy and less CO2,’ said a spokesman. ‘We’ve a foot in the door of the premium market.’
He also reports MINI buyer’s insatiable appetite for accessories. It seems that no matter how expansive the dealer brochures, customers still have a thirst for more. Sounds to us like a very profitable business indeed…