Mini drives BMW to sales record

STRONG sales of the relaunched Mini - the surprise must-have vehicle for American celebrities - helped BMW lift first-quarter profits by 4% to e632m (£395m), the company said today.

Munich-based BMW revealed it sold more than 10,000 Mini Ones and 17,000 Mini Coopers in the first three months of the year, as customers fell in love with a restyled version of the car that first hit the streets in 1959.

Total sales increased by 17% in the quarter, also boosted by strong demand for BMW's most expensive model, the 7-Series, which took market share from models such as Ford-owned Saab. Sales volumes of the 7-Series rose by 52% to more than 11,000 cars, while sales of the X-5 sport utility grew by 35% to almost 23,000.

BMW said it expected to sell more than a million vehicles in the current year, making it a record year for sales and profits. The Mini, made at the Cowley plant in Oxford, is taking the world by storm. In the first nine days after its US launch in March, 787 cars were sold and there was a waiting list at most of the 70 dealers nationwide, BMW said. Oscar-winning Kevin Spacey was one of the first owners, while the Beverly Hills branch of Budget Rent A Car says the Mini is its most popular car.

In the 1960s only 10,000 original Minis were sold before the model was forced off the road by safety regulations. BMW faced an uphill struggle in promoting the tiny car because Americans associate the car more with Mr Bean than the Italian Job. A billboard advertising campaign urges potential customers to 'leave the off-road vehicle off road' and plays on the tiny size of the car with the slogan 'XXL XL L M S Mini'.

The eye-catching car - still a recognisable successor to the original designed by Sir Alec Issigonis - was launched last July to ecstatic reviews in the motoring Press and has also been snapped up by buyers in Japan and continental Europe. The Mini was the only part of Rover Group retained by BMW when it sold Rover to a management team for a symbolic £10 two years ago. It never made a profit under Rover.

BMW hopes that US sales will eventually account for 20% of total Mini output, which is expected to rocket from just over 42,000 cars last year to 100,000 this year. But it has the capacity to roll out even more Minis if US demand beats expectations.