[Introduction: Mini looks small, but as a pure import model, the price range of 200,000 to more than 400,000 is not very close to the people, which also makes the cost performance of this car not prominent. But recently there is news that the MINI model is about to achieve domestic production, is this model going to become cheaper? Does the domestic MINI want to harvest a wave of domestic "leeks" before the MINI realizes electrification? 】
Written| by Cai Jialun and editor | Hezi
Recently, in the recent Q&A session of BMW executives and employees' internal live broadcasts, BMW executives mentioned that the fuel version of imported models produced at the Oxford factory will still appear in the Chinese market and will also be localized in Shenyang. Moreover, BMW Brilliance's internal employees revealed that the domestic project of MINI Auto in Shenyang is continuing to advance, the financial system and IT department have begun to prepare, and the most critical thing is that the Shenyang plant will only produce fuel versions in the future. It is certain that the price of the domestic MINI will surely plummet; however, after the production of this classic British hatchback, will it be unsatisfied?
BMW's MINI brand, launched by the British Car Company on August 26, 1959, has created a number of small hatchbacks that have swept the world and have achieved great success in the history of more than half a century. In the domestic automobile market, MINI also enjoys a high degree of popularity, and can even be said to be one of the most eye-catching hatchback models on the street, and the MINI models of various models are deeply loved by the sisters. It is precisely for this reason that the every move of MINI localization has also attracted much attention in China.
The fuel version of MINI may be produced at the Shenyang plant
Although the electrification transformation is the general trend of the automotive industry, the current position of fuel vehicles is still very stable, so MINI has not given up the further development of the fuel vehicle market. And all current MINI models are produced at the Oxford plant in the United Kingdom, and the only pure electric model, the MINI Cooper SE, is also produced at the plant. At the same time, from the perspective of the MINI brand strategy released by BMW, IN 2025, MINI will launch the last fuel model, and then transform into a pure electric vehicle brand. At that time, the capacity of the Oxford plant will certainly not be able to meet the global order demand, and China, as the world's largest automobile consumer market, will also be the focus of the MINI brand.
To put it bluntly, if MINI wants to expand its global market share, then the Chinese market must need the focus of this brand; you know, many models have sworn that they will not be localized, but then they also entered the joint venture factory for domestic production, and achieved certain sales results. Can MINI not be red-eyed? And now the domestic automotive supply chain system has been quite mature, MINI into domestic production, basically there will not be too much technical obstacles, but it depends on how the BMW Group unfolds the layout.
In addition, judging from the domestic MINI spy photos previously released, the classic elements such as the iconic round lights of the new car and the shape of the hatchback have been retained, and it is not expected that there will be much difference with imported models.
MINI domestic production, is it to harvest a wave of leeks?
At present, the models sold by the MINI brand in China are MINI COOPER, MINI COUNTRYMAN, MINI COUPE, MINI CLUBMAN, MINI JCW, etc., and the model richness is high. With the official landing of domestic fuel version models and pure electric models, the entry price of MINI products in the future is expected to drop to less than 200,000, and the market competitiveness of MINI as a luxury brand will be greatly improved.
However, friends who have or have driven MINI models have some understanding, MINI car products although there are luxury brand genes, but also Q Meng appearance, but MINI brand products are more inclined to control, there is no luxurious decoration in the car, and the driving comfort is lacking, the technology configuration also needs to be optional, and the steering wheel of the MINI car is particularly heavy, one-handed steering and U-turn are very difficult, many sisters who bought MINI, have some regrets.
So, does the domestic MINI want to harvest a wave of domestic "leeks" before the MINI realizes electrification?
MINI's performance in the domestic market was mediocre
It should also be pointed out that although the brand awareness of MINI is high and the image of the whole vehicle is more classic, the sales of this brand are actually not good. In terms of 2021, MINI's global sales volume is 302,144 units, compared to only 31,000 units in the Chinese market, such sales figures are not very prominent for a luxury car brand with multiple models. In the context of the substantial growth of sales in the Chinese auto market in 2021, the sales performance of the MINI brand is even more bleak.
Moreover, in the luxury car market at the same level, compared with MINI, consumers are more inclined to choose domestic luxury brand B-class cars such as BMW 3 Series and Mercedes-Benz C-Class and more practical imported models such as Lexus ES.
In this way, BMW may have to consider that after the MINI is domestic, will it really sell as hot as expected? After all, the current luxury car market is no longer a blue ocean, but a red sea, and various luxury brands are riveted to get a piece of the luxury car market. As a luxury brand for niche groups, MINI is more difficult to attract the interest of mainstream consumers: in the eyes of most consumers, if you spend more than 200,000 yuan to buy a MINI, it is better to buy Mercedes-Benz A-Class, BMW 1 Series or Audi A3L and other models, why do you want to start a domestic MINI?
Comments
In the future, MINI will form a situation in which domestic fuel vehicles, domestic electric vehicles, and imported models are sold together, which will greatly increase the richness of choices for friends with MINI feelings. However, now that the luxury car market is so competitive, even if the price of MINI after domestic production has become more affordable, it should be more difficult for this niche brand to do anything big; in other words, MINI should not be able to get rid of the niche label.
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