Mini Can’t Decide Between Building a Halo Car or a Compact Sedan

Mini is trying to decide what its next model should be. 

A premium compact sedan is the sensible choice for the brand, a car that would become Mini’s fifth volume-selling vehicle in a massive segment.

But a halo sports car, a small roadster coupe based on the Superleggera concept (seen above), is still on the table. It would be a low-volume car but it would have a price tag much higher than current Minis, helping to make up for its low sales volume.

SEE ALSO: MINI Superleggera Concept is a Modern Day Classic

“It is a question you have to look at economically, and around the world you could say the sedan has the biggest potential, volumewise,” Peter Schwarzenbauer, BMW board member in charge of Mini, said to Automotive News. 

But Schwarzenbauer also recognizes that having a halo car would benefit the brand in other ways besides just profits. “As you know, halo cars are economically not always great. It is a trade-off: How much does it do for the brand, and how do you make it feasible?” he said.

Introducing a new compact sedan would play into Mini’s current strategy of growing all of its vehicles, moving them from subcompact to compact classification. The redesigned Mini Clubman that went on sale in early 2016 grew by 12 inches compared to its predecessor while a re-worked Mini Countryman is coming soon and is expected to be a few inches longer than the current model.

A specific timeline was not provided, though Schwarzenbauer did confirm that a decision on which car Mini will build will be made sometime this year.

[Source: Automotive News]

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