Southern California Resident Drives 500,000th MINI Off Assembly Line in England

Symbolizes MINI's Sensational Status in the States

WOODCLIFF LAKE, N.J., Oct. 8 -- Dan Cowdery of Westlake Village, California, got the red carpet treatment as he took part in a MINI milestone: Cowdery took delivery of his new MINI -- the 500,000th MINI automobile to roll off the assembly line in Oxford, England since production began in July 2001.

Cowdery, who purchased his customized dark silver MINI Cooper S from Long Beach MINI, was flown to England by MINI USA for a special ceremony last month marking the production milestone. While there, he toured the factory, met several British dignitaries and plant executives, and took his new wheels for a drive on the "wrong" side of the street. Today, Cowdery drove out of the dealership on a red carpet lined with red MINIs.

An auto enthusiast from a young age, Cowdery does "a ton of driving" as well as road racing. He calls his customized MINI -- that is outfitted with a body kit, brake upgrades, and John Cooper Works kit -- a "bad to the bone street car" that he can take on the track, too. "The first time I drove a MINI, I was pretty impressed, and, as it is made by the BMW Group, the decision to buy one was practically made for me," Cowdery said.

"MINI Momentum"

Strong demand for MINI automobiles worldwide pushed up initial production forecasts. The company originally predicted that the Oxford plant would build 100,000 MINIs a year, but the half-million mark was actually reached two years early. Last year, more than 174,000 MINIs were sold worldwide. 111,142 MINIs were sold in the first seven months of 2004, an increase of 4 percent. Seventy-five percent of the half million vehicles produced were exported.

After the United Kingdom, the U.S. is the second-largest market for the MINI brand. More than 85,000 MINIs have been sold in the U.S. since March 2002. More than 36,000 MINIs were sold in 2003, and year-to-date in 2004, more than 25,000 MINIs have made their way to U.S. customers.

California -- Land of MINI

California is a major market for MINI in its own right; more MINIs are sold in the state than in many European countries. On average, 18 percent of all MINIs sold in the US are sold in California.

BMW Group In America

BMW of North America, LLC has been present in the United States since 1975. ROLLS-ROYCE Motor Cars NA, LLC began distributing vehicles in 2003. The BMW Group in the United States has grown to include marketing, sales, and financial service organizations for the BMW brand, the MINI brand, and the ROLLS-ROYCE brand of Motor Cars; DesignworksUSA, an industrial design firm in California; a technology office in Silicon Valley and various other operations throughout the country. BMW Manufacturing Co., LLC in South Carolina is part of BMW Group's global manufacturing network and is the exclusive manufacturing plant for all Z4 Roadster and X5 Sports Activity Vehicles. The BMW Group sales organization is represented in the U.S. through networks of 340 BMW passenger car centers, 327 BMW Sports Activity Vehicle centers, 148 BMW motorcycle retailers, 76 MINI passenger car dealers, and 25 ROLLS-ROYCE Motor Car dealers. BMW (US) Holding Corp., the BMW Group's sales headquarters for North, Central and South America, is located in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey.