First MINI Sales Reported as Brand Returns to U.S. Market

WOODCLIFF LAKE, N.J., April 2 -- MINI USA reported its first retail sales this month, with the return of the MINI brand to the U.S. after a 35-year absence.

On sale from March 22, and with cars arriving daily from England, the division reported 787 retail sales in only nine days trading. MINI USA accounted 716 MINI Coopers and 71 MINI Cooper S' being delivered to customers. Availability of the MINI Cooper S will increase as production ramps up in the coming weeks.

MINI dealers were inundated with visitors in their opening week and reported test drive bookings for weeks ahead. Almost every car purchased was personalized with parts from MINI's Motoring Accessory range. Most in demand were wheel and tire combinations and the most popular roof graphic was the British 'Union Jack' Flag.

The first MINI retailed in the U.S. was a MINI Cooper, sold by MINI of Peabody to a car collector in the Boston area. The buyer had been taken by MINI since his first viewing at the car's Detroit auto show debut in 2000 and ordered his car in MINI's classic red body, white roof combination in honor of the famous 1964 Monte Carlo winner.

Jack Pitney, general manager of MINI USA said: ``We are delighted that MINI is now officially 'motoring' in the USA and the public response has been nothing short of terrific. To have retailed so many cars over such a short period with so many celebratory events taking place is testament to the enthusiasm and hard work of our dealers' sales staff.''

MINI USA is expected to sell 20,000 cars in its first full year through a network of approximately 70 MINI dealers, when fully established. The 115hp MINI Cooper has an MSRP of $16,850 and the supercharged 163hp MINI Cooper S is $19,850. Both prices include delivery charges.

BMW Group In America

BMW of North America has been present in the United States since 1975. Since then, the BMW Group in the United States has grown to include marketing, sales and financial service organizations for the BMW and MINI brands; a South Carolina manufacturing operation; DESIGNWORKS/USA, an industrial design firm in California; a technology office in Silicon Valley and various other operations throughout the country. The BMW Group is represented in the U.S. through networks of 340 BMW car, 327 BMW Sports Activity Vehicle, 148 BMW Motorcycle retailers and 53 MINI car dealers. BMW US Holding Corp., the Group's headquarters for North, Central and South America, is located in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey.

Information about BMW Group products is available to consumers via the Internet at http://www.bmwusa.com , http://www.bmwmotorcycles.com and http://www.miniusa.com .

                         MINI Sales Report for March 2002

                                      2002

    March                              787
    Year-to-Date                       787

                               March      Year-to-Date
                                2002          2002

    MINI Cooper                  716           716
    MINI Cooper S                 71            71

    Total                        787           787