Mini supply woes

GROWTH of BMW’s Mini brand in Australia is being stymied by a lack of supply, which will be restricted to about 2000 units this year – around 100 less than it received in 2005.

National Mini manager Justin Hocevar told GoAuto earlier this month that BMW Group Australia had requested an allocation from the factory in Oxford, England, of 2200-2300 cars – "and we had that with restrictions in mind".

"But it’s come back from the plant that we’ll be lucky if we can do 2000 units based on the production available this year," he said.

The average waiting time for most models is currently around three months, and could be longer for some customers now that John Cooper Works tuning kits are being fitted on the production line rather than at the local dealer.

Mr Hocevar said that Mini would stick with its "premium" (high-spec) model strategy – the cheaper Mini One sold overseas remains off the agenda – and could be selling around 3000 units per annum given unlimited supply.