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On May 15th what many had speculated for quite some time became official, Dr. Panke, Director of the Board of BMW AG, announced that MINI will be bringing a convertible to market.
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| Dr. Panke has confirmed that the production of the MINI Cabrio has been given a green light. |
According to Panke, "The MINI brand is an important pillar of our premium brand strategy and we are continuing with our investments. I can hereby confirm that we will be expanding the MINI product range by a four-seater cabrio with the aim of gaining new customers in the open-top small car segment. The MINI Cabrio will become another highlight in the success story of the MINI brand."
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| The Mini has already exceeded expectations, and there is no doubt the Cabrio will boost sales. |
While an exact production date has not been determined, most analysts expect the MINI Cabrio some time in 2004 as a 2005 model. By that time the popular brand will have had even more time to entrench itself on an eager public, already responsible for consuming more than 144,000 MINIs last year. That exceeded initial expectations by 40%. What's more in March of this year the feisty little car continued the trend, topping 200,000 units sold since its market launch.
The Cabrio will no doubt enhance the little car's popularity, reaching new potential customers that might not have previously considered a MINI.