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An executive summary for managers and executive readers can be found at the end of this article.
Introduction
This paper will examine the changing positioning and appeal of the Mini brand, as a result of BMW's ownership of the traditionally British Mini brand, and the launch of the new Mini by BMW in 2001. The Mini is one of the most established and successful product brands in the automotive industry. It has been in existence for over 45 years and has sold over four million units before its highly successful re-launch in 2001 ([6] Birmingham Mini Owners Club, 2002). The Mini was designed and manufactured in Britain and was launched in 1959 by the British Leyland Motor Corporation. The Mini remained under British ownership until 1994 when BMW acquired the Rover Group, though they later sold off much of the group, BMW kept the Mini. In 1999 the Mini celebrated its 40th birthday and Autocar named it the car of the century ([26] National Mini Owners Club, n.d.). The Mini itself remained relatively unchanged from its original launch until it was completely withdrawn from production in 2000. A new Mini and Mini Cooper (designed and manufactured by BMW) were launched in 2001. It has been a very successful project with sales growing from 25,000 units in 2001 to over 200,000 units in 2006 ([2] Arlidge, 2006).
The Mini is a rather unique product and brand in the automotive industry. The majority of well-established models, such as the Ford Escort (which was in production for 31 years) and the Volkswagen Golf (which is still in production after over 30 years), have been constantly updated and redesigned throughout their existence. For example, the Ford Escort was launched in 1968, then updated in 1975 with the Escort Mk2, then in 1980 with the Mk3, then again in 1990 and 1997 with the Mk4 and Mk5 ([7] CAP, 1995-1997). Similarly, the VW Golf has been significantly updated a total of four times since its original launch in 1974 ([8] Channel 4 Car, n.d.). Through this constant evolution since their original conception these models have remained competitive and during this time they have become almost unrecognisable to the original models. However, by contrast between 1959 and 2001, the "Mini" had...