You could be forgiven if you haven’t thought about the Mini Convertible in a little while—only 4,031 of these were sold last year in the U.S., down almost a quarter from the year before, though 5,334 in 2018 still wasn’t much. Anyway, Mini is reportedly getting rid of it.
This is sad insomuch as you care about Mini and convertibles, and a seemingly smaller and smaller portion of people in the US actually do, with Mini sales down 17 percent across the board in North America last year with only 36,092 Minis sold total, or about as many Fits Honda sold alone.
All of which makes me fear for the continued existence of Mini in the US going forward, but BMW seems weirdly committed to it, probably because even if sales are down, Minis remain pretty expensive, meaning that BMW probably still makes a decent profit on each one sold.
But no longer, apparently, on the Mini Convertible after 2024. That’s according to Automotive News’ “supply chain sources.”
Mini plans to sunset its two-door convertible after production of the current-generation model ends in February 2024, according to supply chain sources, ending a nearly two-decade run in the U.S.
A Mini spokesman declined to comment on future plans for the model.
“The convertible remains an appealing model in Mini’s lineup,” he said.
[...]
While demand for the Mini hatchback has soared above its novelty status, the convertible remains just a niche player, requiring dedicated tooling and complexity to build, said Sam Fiorani, vice president at AutoForecast Solutions.
Modern Minis are big, heavy (nearly 3,000 pounds for the convertible), and expensive (starting at $28,400 for the convertible), and despite all that Mini still has an insanely devoted following, any visit to a Mini club will reveal. Still, unless you’re a Mini superfan there isn’t much on paper to convince you to buy a Mini Convertible over a Mazda Miata, which is lighter (around 2,400 pounds depending on transmission), makes more power (181 horsepower vs 134 horsepower on the base Mini Convertible), and costs less (Miata starts at $26,580).
All of which is to say that I’m not sure who, exactly, will miss this car, but some will surely. And I bet the 228-horsepower John Cooper Works version is fun, though that one starts at $38,400, or about six grand more than the cheapest Mustang convertible, which makes 310 horsepower. The Mini Convertible seems, mainly, to be answering a question few people are asking.