The Mini: a case study in product extension strategies

Autocar’s ‘Beetle crushing’ car of the (twentieth) century was the Mini. According to the product life cycle concept, products typically have a finite lifespan. When it’s up, products are scrapped – or relaunched. When the Mini began to run out of steam the brand was bought by BMW who have worked hard to bring it up-to-date with a host of extension strategies.

The latest radical move is the Countryman. By 2013 BMW will have a total of six Mini models on the market.

There’s plenty of coverage of the new model, which has left the motoring journalists a bit confused as it’s very different from Minis of the past. It’s big, a 4 wheel drive and generally has little in common with its nippy hatchback sibling.

According to the BBC the roomy car is pitched as an alternative for drivers who have chosen not to buy Minis in the past, precisely because they have been too small, or at drivers who have outgrown the hatchback or the convertible.

Volkswagen’s Golf, Ford’s Focus, Toyota’s Rav4 and Suzuki’s SX4 are named as competitors, but its main rival will be Nissan’s hugely successful Qashqai crossover, according to Mini product manager Lee Connolly. “Nissan’s been doing an extremely good job here and we want a slice of their cake, for sure,” he says. “The crossover segment is a growing market that we want to be part of.” He predicts that three quarters of the Countryman’s customers will be families.

But targeting customers who are looking for practicality could backfire if it alienates traditional Mini customers who are looking for a funky and youthful experience. Hence, the Countryman risks stretching the Mini brand to its limits, perhaps damaging its carefully honed image in the process. Launching it thus poses a significant risk for its parent company BMW. But that, executives say, is a risk worth taking as building on the roaring success of Mini’s existing hatchback, convertible and Clubman models could also prove hugely rewarding.

“This is arguably the most important launch since we introduced the New Mini in 2001,” says Mr Connolly. Over the next couple of years, two more Minis - a roadster and a coupe - will go on sale, bringing the British-based carmaker’s model line-up to six - not counting its experimental electric Mini E.