We recently sat down with the man in charge of Mini, Kay Segler, and he shed some light on the possibility of diesels infiltrating Mini's U.S. lineup, made a case for adopting a dual-clutch automatic, and discussed the brand's future in rallying. Oh, and some other interesting stuff, too. C/D: What are your plans for the U.S.? KS: We are experiencing strong growth, ahead in fact of our global growth. America continues to be our strongest market and the distance to other markets will grow, not least because of the Countryman. We reached a wide new customer base with that vehicle. The expansion of the John Cooper Works sub-brand also fits this market very well. And we are also expanding our dealer base.
So you will be able to move the Mini brand into the heartland? We are not even close to that. We are in the big cities, and we don't have a strong presence in mid-size cities yet, and we are not pushing radically for that. Rather, we want to offer a total ownership experience with "drive aways" on the weekend, customer activities—events like "Mini takes America," which will start on July 4 from east to west this year. If we don't offer this experience, we won't be such a strong brand in the future. What about product news? We will do a successor of the Mini GP. In the U.S., we sold 415 of altogether 2000 units of the first one. We will do a successor and we will show it in Le Castellet in mid May. It won't be drivable yet, but we will show the design and the technology, and it will be based on the regular Mini. Will it have more power? No direct answer to that, but it will not be about power but about handling. I drove the old, 215-hp GP on the Nürburgring and the new one will easily be 20 seconds quicker. This car is about stability. The GP version will do two to three things: We will continue the GP story, we will grow John Cooper Works as a sub-brand, and we directly hit a nerve on the U.S. market. It will be a limited edition, but we won't go to the max with pricing. We don't want to "cream the market." Audi is proud that the Euro-market A1 Quattro is far more powerful than the Mini JCW, and we hear the S1 is designed to beat it as well. What's your take? I'll say again that I will not participate in the saber-rattling with torque and horsepower. Mini is not about that, but about handling. Even if I could put 300 hp into a Mini, I wouldn't do it. We put our power rating where it should be, and not to a level set by a self-appointed competitor. Would you like to do tailor-made cars, such as the BMWs available through BMW Individual? M GmbH [read our recent interview with the head of M here—Ed.] has a workshop and processes for this which we don't have. And they are simply too busy to take on a similar project for us. Are diesel models a possibility for the U.S.? Diesels in general are a topic for the environment, and for America. It won't happen in the current lineup because we can't justify the business case yet. But for future models, we'll look at it very closely because dealers and customers continue to approach us about it. That pertains not only to the U.S. market, but also to other markets, such as Japan. Which transmission strategy do you follow? Wouldn't a dual-clutch box be a better brand fit than a traditional automatic? Of course, a John Cooper Works is screaming for a dual-clutch transmission, but you can also improve an automatic transmission to a level where you hardly recognize the difference anymore. Over the entire lineup, demand is higher for automatics. Of course, we consider going from six to eight gears or similar, that is a topic [of conversation]. The John Cooper Works Countryman now comes with a manual and an automatic and we are very curious how these choices will be accepted. What will the Clubvan be like? It will be built and offered in various markets, including the U.S. [More details and timing for Clubvan arrival here—Ed.] The reaction was sensational. It will clearly be a commercial vehicle; this will be reflected in the engine choices. We won't, for instance, have a John Cooper Works version. Will the Paceman still bear that name when it is on the street, and will it look like the concept? We are still in the name-finding process. [We have been told that Countryman Coupe is a strong possibility—Ed.] The shape is more or less fixed as we have seen it, only details will be changed. And does the small Rocketman have a chance of series production? The main issue here is the business case. I don't believe that a smaller car could be that much less expensive to make, but the customer would expect it to be offered for a few thousand dollars less. What we have seen here are design features that were popular. We didn't do the concept just to get attention, but we want to see what elements could work on other models. Can you talk about the design strategy of your new chief designer, Anders Warming? I believe that we are much more sure now what the iconic elements of our design icons really are—and what elements are less important. We don't have to exaggerate the various elements anymore, and we have reached a level of calmness now. Our design language is established on every market and we can move forward with a steady hand. You began exploring electric mobility with the Mini E, but now that torch appears to have been picked up by BMW's i brand. What is Mini's role in the future? When I look at the entire range of possibilities from mild hybrids to a fully electric vehicle, plug-in hybrids are the best compromise for small cars like the Mini. If I had a wish, it would be in the direction of such a plug-in hybrid. We studied a fully electric Mini very closely, but a pure electric is so heavy that the go-kart feeling disappears—and there is a problem of space. Look at the i, it is a bigger car. And you have to get just about 100 miles of range, otherwise you are simply dead in the market. What is the goal for your rally activities? At Dakar, I believe we surprised everyone. We will stay and [Stéphane] Peterhansel will drive for us again. WRC is very much a series of local events and a great marketing platform. It is not primarily about winning the entire series, but we want to be competitive. My dream would be having 50 or 100 rally cars with amateurs, semi-professionals, and a few pros participating in rallies all over the world. from Car and Driver Blog http://blog.caranddriver.com | |||
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Friday, April 20, 2012
Interview: Mini Chief Discusses Diesels for U.S., Dual-Clutch Boxes, Stillborn Rocketman, and More
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