After 164,000 units produced at its plant in Oxford, England, BMW has called time on its first generation Mini convertible line.
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‘Job Last’ was a metallic white silver Cooper S Convertible Sidewalk destined for the USA, the second-largest market for the little drop-top after Britain and Ireland.
Around 77% of total sales over the four-year production run were made in Mini’s five major markets – UK and Ireland, the US, Germany, Italy and Japan. Australia and Canada were also in the top 10 and high growth rates had recently been recorded in China and Russia.
“In chilly Scandinavia, almost twice as many people drive the Mini Convertible than in fair-weathered Greece; in Austria, there are at least five-times as many drivers than in sunny Portugal,” Mini said.
A replacement is not imminent due to strong demand for the second generation hatchback and new Clubman ‘wagon’ model line.
“For us, this is the end of an era”, said Oxford plant director Oliver Zipse.
Due to the constant rise in demand, the British plant has until further notice reserved its manufacturing capacities for the hatchback and Clubman, Mini said.
The best selling convertible was the 85kW/115bhp petrol Cooper Convertible at around 56,500 units.
