MINI brand reinvention 5

At the F54 MINi Clubman's premiere in Berlin yesterday, the BMW Group also announced the repositioning of the MINI brand. The move is a rather comprehensive one, from a streamlining of its offerings and a move into a higher vehicle class to a new logo and even an associated typeface.

The realignment of the brand's product and brand strategy is set to see MINI adopt a "less is more" approach, concentrating on five core models in the future, according to Peter Schwarzenbauer, member of the board of management of BMW AG responsible for MINI, Rolls-Royce, BMW Motorrad and after-sales.

The primary part of the presentation was the announcement the brand will begin offering a car-sharing option from next year - a new optional equipment package will enable MINI customers to share their car with others, and customers can make their vehicle available to the DriveNow car-sharing plan when not in use.

The programme will initially be available in the US in 2016 and later in DriveNow cities. In a further step, MINI will also enable a new form of vehicle lending (peer-to-peer car sharing) for a defined circle of family and friends.

The brand is also moving into a higher vehicle class, taking it from the premium small car segment into the premium compact segment with the advent of the new Clubman. The company says that the F54 is entering the market segment that promises the strongest growth in the future - market studies forecast an annual growth of 4% for the premium compact segment, which will account for more than 27% of the total global passenger car market by 2020.

The automaker expects the percentage of Cooper S models to account for up to a third of sales, depending on the model series, over the medium term. It added that the share of high-performance John Cooper Works model is set to almost double to 5% of the MINI model range.

Finally, there's also a new corporate design - the change also sees the adoption of a new two-dimensional logo and fresh typography, giving it a new tonality in line with the makeover.