Fewer rivals, price reset could help Mini dealers

Jason Willis, chairman of the Mini National Dealer Council, sees an opening in the market — fewer competitive cars — that could help ensure the long-term viability of Mini in North America. It's an opportunity to slightly reposition the brand with sticker prices closer to actual transaction prices. He also would like to see a vehicle with more rear seat room.

With direct competitors such as the Volkswagen Beetle being discontinued, and Ford, General Motors and other automakers paring car lineups and leaning on SUVs and crossovers, Mini has a chance to start rebuilding its volume, says Willis, dealer principal at Mini of Des Moines in Iowa.

"One of the things we noticed with our guests is that they buy the car when they are in their 20s when they are single or newly married. Then they have kids, and the back seat space just gets a little too tight. Then we lose our guests until they become empty nesters," he said. "If we could get something a little bigger than the Countryman ... I believe we would be able to keep a lot more of our family-stage customers."

Willis says the Oxford Edition of the Mini Hardtop, a value-priced three-cylinder starting at $20,600, including shipping, is an example of how the brand's 117 U.S. dealers can sell premium small cars profitably.

"If there is anything pushing the Mini owner away, it's the MSRP," he said. "It has been pushed too far up the scale, and I believe that is one of the biggest things that the council is working on, getting the MSRP of the vehicles at the price where they are actually selling, not with discounts and incentives but what the Mini brand is retailing at."