1. Case: The Mini
Group 3: Daniel Gomez, Elisa Ham,
Hien Le, Arif Mushlih
2. What Do We Know?
• Small, fun cars / retro cars
Mazda’s Miata VW’s New Beetle Chrysler’s PT Cruiser
Ford’s Thunderbird Nissan’s 350Z
3. BMW and the Mini affair
• BMW’s mission:
Sell established models in established markets
Penetrating new markets with new models
• Acquired Rover Group, Ltd.
• Existing market: Europe
BMW wanted to enter the small, fun car market and target young, first-time
car buyers in the U.S.
4. What Were the Issues that BMW
Had?
• Wanted to launch an affordable car but did not want backlash from
current BMW owners who paid a premium for the BMW name
• Mini is popular in Europe but customer preferences might be different in
the U.S.
• Wanted to target the young, first-time new car buyer market. Needed to
keep the vision for the car in mind.
Result: Not stress BMW in the promotion of the Mini, but let BMW’s
engineering and design speak for itself.
5. Mini: Design Considerations
Differentiation
20%
Meet Customer
Needs
30%
Environment
15%
Speed to Market
Support
Corporate
Identity
5%
10%
Ease of
Manufacture
20%
IMPORTANCE (%)
6. Benefits for the Targeted Market
Segments
• Affordable price
• Sporty design
• BMW quality
• Reminiscent of the classic Mini
• Fuel efficiency
7. Design Pitfalls and Concerns
• Product differentiation
• Utility car size
• Emotional appeal
• Driving experience
• Maintenance and repair
• Quality of the user interface
Focus groups
Simulation
Focus groups/ Surveys
Simulation
Prototype
Simulation/ Prototype
Editor's Notes
*Daniel – What do we know about the cars mentioned in the case? What makes them appealing?
Miata
1990, US car buying market surprised and pleased.
Designed to look and feel like a 1960s-era British roadster.
Low retail price at $15,000
Popularity of small cars in the US
Beetle
Car market changed lots of small cars.
Designed on the Golf platform retaining much of the familiar Beetle shape but competitive in terms of price and performance.
PT Cruiser
Resembled a 1930s-style car
Thunderbird
Ford brought back its 1950s era Thunderbird for a short time
350z
Update of the popular Datsun 240z of the 1970s
* Elisa – Can anyone tell me what BMW’s mission was?
BMW’s mission:
Sell established models in established markets
Penetrating new markets with new models
Acquired Rover Group, Ltd.
Obtained the rights to the name and design of the Mini
Existing market: Europe
Sub-subcompact market – suited to city driving and parking
BMW wanted to enter the small, fun car market and target young, first-time car buyers
* Arif - Can anyone tell me what the issues BMW had?
Did not want backlash from current BMW owners who had paid in the $50,000 range for a new car and believed they benefited from the prestige of the BMW nameplate.
Hien: What’s the main design considerations when BMW develop the new Mini for the U.S. market?
Meet Customer Needs – Sub/subcompact is easy to drive and park. Price point is low at $15,000-$20,000. customers are able to go onto the mini website and customize their own Mini.
Differentiation – modeled after a classic car, so it is different than most new models of cars. They also want the car to have a sporty look to appeal to younger generations
Support Corporate Identity – Didn’t stress its relationship with BMW.
Speed to Market – Already lots of small cars in the US market (Beetle, Miata), so they needed to be fast to compete.
Ease of Manufacture – customers able to customize their own Minis so it must be easy to manufacture for the customer.
Environment – gas efficiency with EPA 37 MPG. Less power, less cylinders, takes less gas.
Elisa -
Affordable price - $15,000-20,000
Sporty design – still feels like the classic but also feels sporty. Appeals to the younger generation.
BMW quality – BMW is known for world-class engineering and design.
Reminiscent of the classic Mini – looks like the Mini from 1959.
Fuel efficiency – 37mpg
Daniel -
Product differentiation – between sporty and classic. Focus group – how to position product: whether more sporty or classic.
Utility car size – needs to be small but comfortable.
Emotional appeal – are the customers responding to the classic/sporty look?
Driving experience – simulation. Is the car fun to drive? Do people want to drive this car? How does it handle?
Maintenance and repair – easy vs. hard to maintain/repair. Affordable vs. expensive.
Quality of the user interface – Are the dashboard/controls easy to use and placed in an aesthetic manner?