DETROIT, Jan 11 (Reuters) - BMW unit Mini unveiled its new convertible model at the Detroit auto show on Sunday, but an executive said the vehicle's outlook was far brighter long-term than its short-term due to the economy.
'It must be said that 2009 has not started out as the most optimistic of years and a convertible is one of the most feel-happy products out there,' Mini USA vice president Jim McDowell told Reuters. 'I think sales should pick up in the second half of the year.'
McDowell said the new convertible is expected to account for around 15 percent of Mini's overall sales.
Tests on the new car's fuel consumption had not yet been completed, but he expected the new Mini would get about 20 percent more miles per gallon than the 37 mpg of its last hardtop model.
Sales of the model should be launched worldwide by the end of March, McDowell said.
Last year, Mini was one of only three auto brands that saw U.S. sales rise, with a 29 percent increase in sales over 2007.
The other two car brands that saw U.S. sales increases were Subaru, owned by Fuji Heavy Industries, and BMW unit Rolls-Royce.
Overall, U.S. auto sales dropped 18 percent in 2008.
(Reporting by Nick Carey, editing by Peter Bohan and Bernard Orr)
((email: nick.carey@thomsonreuters.com; +1-312-408-8756)) Keywords: AUTOSHOW MINI/ (For more about the Detroit Auto Show, see the Reuters Global Investing blog: http://blogs.reuters.com/globalinvesting/tag/ detroit-auto-show/) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
'It must be said that 2009 has not started out as the most optimistic of years and a convertible is one of the most feel-happy products out there,' Mini USA vice president Jim McDowell told Reuters. 'I think sales should pick up in the second half of the year.'
McDowell said the new convertible is expected to account for around 15 percent of Mini's overall sales.
Tests on the new car's fuel consumption had not yet been completed, but he expected the new Mini would get about 20 percent more miles per gallon than the 37 mpg of its last hardtop model.
Sales of the model should be launched worldwide by the end of March, McDowell said.
Last year, Mini was one of only three auto brands that saw U.S. sales rise, with a 29 percent increase in sales over 2007.
The other two car brands that saw U.S. sales increases were Subaru, owned by Fuji Heavy Industries, and BMW unit Rolls-Royce.
Overall, U.S. auto sales dropped 18 percent in 2008.
(Reporting by Nick Carey, editing by Peter Bohan and Bernard Orr)
((email: nick.carey@thomsonreuters.com; +1-312-408-8756)) Keywords: AUTOSHOW MINI/ (For more about the Detroit Auto Show, see the Reuters Global Investing blog: http://blogs.reuters.com/globalinvesting/tag/ detroit-auto-show/) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.