November 2015 YTD Mini USA Car Sales: 53% Of Minis Sold In America Have Four Doors

Over the first 11 months of 2015, 53% of the Minis sold in America are of the four-door variety.

That figure includes 13,942 Mini Cooper Hardtop 4-Doors and the Mini Countryman's 14,538 sales.

That figure is about to rise, as the number of sales produced by the upcoming wagon-like Clubman, itself a four-door model, hits the market. The Clubman will steal sales from the Cooper 4-Door and Countryman, but not so many that it won't increase the overall number of sales produced by Mini's bigger models.

The Cooper 4-Door's arrival late last year has certainly had a huge impact on sales of the 2-Door Cooper. Consider November's results, as sales of the Cooper Hardtop 4-Door jumped from 235 in 2014 to 1325 in November 2015, while U.S. sales of the Cooper Hardtop 2-Door plunged from 2633 units – as the 4-Door launched – to 1460 units in November 2015.

---

U.S. Vehicle Sales Rankings By Model - November 2015 YTD
U.S. Car Sales Rankings By Model - November 2015 YTD
U.S. SUV/Crossover Sales Rankings By Model - November 2015 YTD

---

BMW, the maker of Britain's Mini brand, relies on Mini for 15% of the automaker's U.S. volume. BMW's U.S. sales are up 4.4% to 311,398 so far this year. Mini sold 53,505 cars in the first 11 months of 2015, an 8% increase. Rolls-Royce, another BMW brand, is up 4% to 775 year-to-date sales.

Timothy Cain is the founder of GoodCarBadCar.net, which obsesses over the free and frequent publication of U.S. and Canadian auto sales figures. Follow on Twitter @goodcarbadcar and on Facebook.

Mini USA Sales Charts - August 2014 YTD

53% of the Minis sold in America in August 2014 were Countrymans and Pacemans. The Countryman was Mini's best-selling model variant, responsible for 50% more Mini sales than the company's original model, the one they call the Hardtop.

---

• U.S. Auto Sales Brand Rankings - August 2014 YTD
• U.S. Car Sales Rankings By Model - August 2014 YTD

---

Now in its third BMW iteration, the Hardtop's launch has been a slow one. This isn't necessarily a reflection on the car's popularity, as many Minis are individualized models that take time to cross the Atlantic. We've yet to see the full impact of what the new Mini can do.

In the meantime, the Countryman is floating Mini's boat. Granted, Mini's boat isn't sitting that high in the water: sales have decreased in each of 2014's first eight months. Countryman sales jumped 48% in August even as the rest of Mini's range slid 41%. Year-to-date, Mini Countryman sales are up 6%; the rest of the Mini lineup is collectively down 34%.

Naturally Mini's U.S. decline has plenty to do with the relaunch of its most popular model. Not every automaker has the wherewithal, the capability, and the consistent day-in-day-out appeal to introduce, for example, a popular new Toyota Camry without losing sales of the old model in the lead-up to that introduction. Mini Cooper/Cooper S Hardtop sales fell 8% in 2013, as the brand's slight 1% growth was attributed to the Countryman and newer variants, Roadster and Paceman. Only in July of this year did there appear to be a reversing of the trend as Hardtop volume jumped 21%.

Regardless of the heights Mini achieves with its new cars – remember, they're expanding the range by expanding the car – should we really be surprised that a brand which appeals to a relatively limited portion of the car-buying public would be relying on the success of its higher-riding models?

Acura is another shining example of the trend. Their car sales have been plunging for some time, and are down 32% so far this year, even as their crossover sales have jumped 20% compared with the first eight months of 2014. The RDX and MDX account for 69% of Acura's U.S. sales in 2014.

Land Rover now outsells Jaguar by more than three-to-one in the United States. As recently as 2004, Jaguar was outselling Land Rover. TTAC's Chart Of The Day late last month showed the CR-V's steady rise toward the top of the Honda pecking order.

Why should Mini be any different? Aside from, well, you know, the name of the brand, which signifies a deep-seated affiliation with things small and, dare we say it, miniature.

Things could be different soon enough. Mini may be able to take advantage of the Fiat 500's decreasing appeal – 500 sales are down 11% in 2014 – and the Volkswagen Beetle's Volkswagen-like performance in 2014 – Beetle sales are down 31% over the last eight months. Indeed, despite concerns about the dilution of the brand, perhaps the 5-door Mini is exactly what the brand needs to keep from turning into Great Britain's next Land Rover.

Mini USA Car Sales Charts - March 2014 YTD

Mini USA's sales figures continue to be all but irrelevant in the lead-up to the launch of BMW's third hardtop Mini. Sales of the "original" Cooper Hardtop were down 75% to just 687 units in March 2014. Had that decline not occurred, Mini sales would have been down 6% to 5718 units in March.

• All Makes & Models Ranked By March 2014 YTD U.S. Sales
• All 148 Cars Ranked By March 2014 YTD U.S. Sales

Instead, with that 2063-unit loss, Mini USA sales slid 40%. 

Sales of the Paceman were level at 169. The Paceman, Mini's newest vehicle line, along with the other two newbies - Coupe and Roadster - accounted for just 11% of the brand's March output. They won't be replaced after their current iterations die off.

The Countryman kept Mini dealers afloat last month, however, with a slight 100-unit increase. The Countryman generated 51% of Mini's U.S. March volume.

Fiat sold 3316 500s in March plus 1422 500Ls. Volkswagen sold 2131 hardtop Beetles and 1301 Beetle Convertibles.

Click Column Headers To Sort • April 2014 • February 2014 • March 2013

Mini	March 2014	March 2013	% Change	2014 YTD	2013 YTD	%  Change
Mini Cooper Hardtop	687	2750	-75.0%	1964	6390	-69.3%
Mini Cooper Convertible	352	421	-16.4%	644	719	-10.4%
Mini Cooper Clubman	344	431	-20.2%	780	838	-6.9%
Mini Countryman	1861	1761	5.7%	4305	4839	-11.0%
Mini Coupe	99	230	-57.0%	262	445	-41.1%
Mini Roadster	143	309	-53.7%	296	655	-54.8%
Mini Paceman	169	169	0.0%	406	169	140%
---	---	---	---	---	---	---
Total	3655	6071	-39.8%	8657	14,055	-38.4%

Source: BMW of North America

RECOMMENDED READING
Mini USA Car Sales Charts - April 2014 YTD
Mini USA Car Sales Charts - February 2014 YTD
Mini USA Car Sales Charts - March 2013 YTD
U.S. Auto Sales Brand Rankings - March 2014 YTD
Top 20 Best-Selling Cars In America - March 2014

Mini USA Car Sales Charts - February 2014 YTD

Click Chart To Expand

Mini USA generated 56% of its volume with the Countryman in February 2014 as dealers anxiously awaited the arrival of the bigger, more efficient, slightly less attractive third iteration of BMW's Mini. 

Sales of that core original model slid 78% to just 445 units, a predictable decrease, but a harsh one for dealers, nevertheless. Convertibles accounted for 9.1% of Mini's U.S. volume in February 2014. The Paceman was outsold every so slightly by the two-row Mini droptop. 

• All Vehicles & Brands Ranked By February 2014 YTD U.S. Sales
• All 147 Cars Ranked By February 2014 YTD U.S. Sales

Volkswagen sold 1790 Beetle Coupes (down 40%) and 911 Beetle Convertibles (up 29%) in February. Fiat 500 sales totalled 2664 units, a 19% drop, while Fiat also sold 801 copies of the 500L.

Click Column Headers To Sort • March 2014 • January 2014 • February 2013

Mini	February 2014	February 2013	% Change	2014 YTD	2013 YTD	%  Change
Mini Cooper Hardtop	445	1986	-77.6%	1277	3640	-64.9%
Mini Cooper Convertible	129	157	-17.8%	292	298	-2.0%
Mini Cooper Clubman	215	198	8.6%	436	407	7.1%
Mini Countryman	1370	1662	-17.6%	2444	3078	-20.6%
Mini Coupe	79	118	-33.1%	163	215	-24.2%
Mini Roadster	95	181	-47.5%	153	346	-55.8%
Mini Paceman	126	---	---	237	---	---
---	---	---	---	---	---	---
Total	2459	4302	-42.8%	5002	7984	-37.3%

Source: BMW of North America

RECOMMENDED READING
Mini USA Car Sales Charts - March 2014 YTD
Mini USA Car Sales Charts - January 2014
Mini USA Car Sales Charts - February 2013 YTD
U.S. Auto Sales Brand Rankings - February 2014 YTD
Top 20 Best-Selling Cars In America - February 2014

Mini USA Car Sales Charts - January 2014

Click Chart To Expand

Now that we're all nicely acquainted with the next Mini Cooper, at least in hardtop form, sales of the outgoing Mini are tumbling. January's 50% decline in Cooper Hardtop sales follows up on 2013's 8% drop.

With a chopping in half of sales of its normal best seller, Mini USA announced that January 2014's most popular variant was the Countryman. However, Countryman sales also declined; quite sharply, in fact. 

Sales of the Roadster and Coupe also slid below January 2013's level, and Paceman sales, which had risen to their highest level yet in December (650) fell to just 111 units in January.

• All 248 Vehicle Ranked By January 2014 U.S. Sales
• All 143 Cars Ranked By January 2014 U.S. Sales

Meanwhile, Fiat sold 2493 500s and 729 500Ls. Volkswagen sold 750 Beetle Convertibles and 1284 hardtop Beetles in January 2014. 

Click Column Headers To Sort • February 2014 • December 2013 • January 2013

Mini	January 2014	January 2013	% Change	2014 YTD	2013 YTD	%  Change
Mini Cooper Hardtop	832	1654	-49.7%	832	1654	-49.7%
Mini Cooper Convertible	163	141	15.6%	163	141	15.6%
Mini Cooper Clubman	221	209	5.7%	221	209	5.7%
Mini Countryman	1074	1416	-24.2%	1064	1416	-24.2%
Mini Coupe	84	97	-13.4%	84	97	-13.4%
Mini Roadster	58	165	-64.8%	58	165	-64.8%
Mini Paceman	111	---	---	111	---	---
---	---	---	---	---	---	---
Total	2543	3682	-30.9%	2543	3682	-30.9%

Source: BMW of North America

RECOMMENDED READING
Mini USA Car Sales Charts - February 2014 YTD
Mini USA Car Sales Charts - December 2013 & Year End
Mini USA Car Sales Charts - January 2013
U.S. Auto Sales Brand Rankings - January 2014
Top 20 Best-Selling Cars In America - January 2014

November 2012 Mini USA Sales Chart

Mini accounted for 14% of all BMW Group sales in America in November 2012. With just one month remaining, just under one out of every five BMW Group sales has been a Mini.

It wasn't that November 2012 was such a bad month for Mini. Year-over-year, sales rose 11%. The Mini Coupe was the brand's only model to suffer a year-over-year decrease, although it was a sharp one; a 48% drop.

BMW, however, had a stellar month. Sales of the company's two most popular models, the 3-Series and 5-Series, reported increases of 42% and 64%, respectively. The 3-Series sold more than twice as often as the whole Mini division.

Click either of the two accompanying charts for a larger view. The chart above shows the year-to-date portion owned by each individual model. The second chart shows monthly totals.

Related From GoodCarBadCar.net
Mini USA Car Sales Charts - November 2013 YTD
Mini USA Sales Chart - December 2012 And 2012 Year End
Mini USA Sales Chart - October 2012
Historic Monthly & Yearly Mini Cooper Sales Figures
Historic Monthly & Yearly Mini Countryman Sales Figures
U.S. Auto Sales Brand Rankings - November 2012 & YTD

Mini USA Sales Chart: January-October 2012

With just one sale to spare, Mini squeaked out a win over the Scion brand in October 2012's U.S. sales rankings. A victory for 24th spot, but a victory nonetheless, one which Mini doesn't look capable of achieving for the full calendar year. Through ten months, Scion is 7958 sales ahead of BMW's British small car division. 

In 2011, Mini ended the year 8240 sales ahead of the FR-S-less Scion. In 2010, Scion beat Mini by 34 sales.

More to the point, Mini's non-Countryman cars - the Hardtop, Convertible, Clubman, Coupe, and Roadster - outsold the Fiat 500 by 333 cars in October 2012. After a dominant September for the Countryman, October sales of the biggest Mini slid 9% year-over-year. But the original BMW Mini Cooper/Cooper S/JCW Hardtop jumped 17% to 2434 units. Clubman sales also rose 16%, and with 595 units in total, accounted for 10.1% of all Minis sold in America last month. Year-to-date the Clubman accounts for just 8.9% of Mini USA volume.

Click Chart For Larger View

Overall, the Mini brand was responsible for 18.2% of all BMW USA sales in October. Through ten months, Mini has found 20.4% of all BMW-Mini U.S. buyers. The Mini division outsells all individual BMW cars save for the 3-Series, 78,081 of which have been sold this year. October happened to be a very good month for the 3er - sales jumped 26% to 9729, good enough to make BMW's most popular model America's 15th-best-selling car.

As a visual aid, the above chart has been sharpened by the removal of a few months of 2012 results. You can still go back in time to see Mini USA sales figures from the first quarter or any month since by scrolling through the Mini Sales Chart section of GCBC. Mini sales are also generalized as a brand here, as Countrymans here, and as non-Countryman Coopers here.

Related From GoodCarBadCar.net
Mini USA Car Sales Charts - October 2013 YTD
Mini USA Sales Chart: 2012 Q1
U.S. Auto Sales Brand Rankings - October 2012 & YTD
Historic Monthly & Yearly Mini Cooper Sales Figures
Historic Monthly & Yearly Mini Countryman Sales Figures
Historic Monthly & Yearly Mini Brand Sales Figures

Mini USA 2011 Sales Chart

Whether sales of the regular Mini have suffered because potential Cooper buyers have gravitated toward the Countryman or because of the presence of the Fiat 500 or... just because, U.S. Mini sales suffered in 2011.

Wait a second, didn't Mini report a 14.9% year-over-year increase on January 5? Yes, of course they did. But Mini accomplished that 11,687-unit increase (from 2010's 45,644) with 17,061 extra sales from models which weren't present last year. Subtracting the Countryman and Coupe from the equation, sales of Mini's regular hardtop Cooper, the Convertible, and Clubman were down 11.5%. Worst off was the Convertible, sales of which slid 29.3%. The Clubman was down 18.4%. This means the original Mini - well, not the original original, but you know what I mean - was down just 5.4%.

Nevertheless, America's new vehicle market was up 10.3% last year, meaning Mini wasn't just down from last year; they were down in a market that was up, and significantly so. It's entirely possible that at least some of the Countryman buyers were about to be Mini Cooper Clubman buyers but chose the bigger model since it became available at the right time. But it's hard to make that argument when the Countryman brought in 16,683 clients. 

If those 16,683 customers were just Mini buyers who happened to choose the Countryman, buyers who would've otherwise chosen a smaller Mini if the Countryman weren't available, then the Countryman's absence would have translated to a 35.3% improvement in sales of the Hardtop, Convertible, and Clubman. Such an improvement would hardly be believable as Mini would then have been on a scarcely possible Kia-like pace, particularly implausible given that Mini sales were up just 0.9% the year before.

This is all speculation, of course. What we do know is that Mini sold fewer copies of their previously core models while selling more Countrymans and a handful of Coupes, too. The U.S. Mini sales chart below bears that out. Just click it for a larger view.

CLICK CHART FOR LARGER VIEW

Related From GoodCarBadCar.net
Mini USA 2012 Q1 Sales Chart
Mini Cooper Sales Figures
Mini Countryman Sales Figures
U.S. Auto Sales By Brand - 2011 Year End
Fiat Beats Mini In Canada - 2011 Year End
Mini Coooper S ALL4 Countryman Driven
The Countryman Is Necessary, Mini's Down