By Matthew Curtin
PARIS--BMW AG (BMW.XE) took the wraps off the latest incarnation
of its MINI small car at the Paris auto show on Thursday, a
five-door hatchback that marks the brand's first entry into a
segment that the German auto maker says is bigger and growing
faster than the market for three-door cars.
"With this model, MINI aims to capitalize on the growing segment
for five-door hatchbacks which is twice the size of the three-door
compact segment," said BMW executive Peter Schwarzenbauer.
BMW is counting on the new MINI to restore some sales momentum
to the brand, where sales have slipped this year as customers
waited for new models to come out.
Sales of MINI brand vehicles fell 9.0% to 175,658 vehicles in
the first eight months of this year compared with the same period
last year.
However, BMW doesn't expect the longer wheelbase MINI, to
outsell the smaller original three-door version, said Ian
Robertson, the auto maker's head of sales.
Around 70% of the small car segment is made up of five-door
models, and only 30% three-door cars. "Our sales won't reflect
that," Mr. Robertson told The Wall Street Journal, noting that
customers primarily associate the MINI brand with three-door
cars.
Write to Matthew Curtin at matthew.curtin@wsj.com
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