Up until now, no one would even dare mention the Mini in the same sentence with the Chrysler PT Cruiser and VW’s New Beetle (well, we’ve done it anyway…).

The times, they are-a-changing, though, and this year’s performance of the BMW-owned niche brand has people wondering.

In the first nine months of 2014, Mini sales in the US are 20 percent down compared to last year’s numbers. According to Autonews, the company’s management has a solid explanation for this but analysts and brand dealers fear that there’s more to it than meets the eye.

“We knew going into the year that we would be down at least through this point in the year”, said vice president of Mini of the Americas David Duncan. He’s slightly optimistic about the future though he doesn’t expect a dramatic turnaround: “We are starting to claw our way back a bit. It will be an uphill battle”, he conceded. “We will not get back to where would even be even year over year. It should be a lower decrease than it is so far.”

Mini also blamed introducing the third generation of its core, and best-selling, Cooper that would make sales of the old model to slow down, as well as a six-week delay in its arrival to the States that was pushed back to mid-September.

Analysts and brand dealers alike though believe that the sales slump is a warning that the brand should seriously reconsider its marketing strategy and move its models from niche products more towards the mainstream.

Ed Kim, vice president of industry analysis for AutoPacific, says that very exclusive niches are not doing Mini any favors and moving future models away from them could be beneficial for the brand: “Because these upcoming models are not typecast into niche roles, I think they can play a big role in revitalizing the Mini brand, helping it to avoid the PT Cruiser/New Beetle curse”, he commented.

Kelley Blue Book analyst Tim Fleming thinks that perhaps Mini is simply falling out of favor with buyers. “As with other niche vehicles, consumers can lose interest and move on to the next trendy models”, he said.

Despite the new version getting favorable reviews and ditching some of its quirky features, especially in the interior, sticking to the same recipe in terms of styling for three generations has raised mixed reactions from owners.

Dealers are not complaining about the 2015 car but rather about the company’s marketing strategy that has, so far, shunned traditional TV commercials in favor of special events.

It’s a recipe that even Duncan agrees has gotten old: “We agree 100 percent”, he says, pointing out that TV will be “a major portion” of the 2015 Mini campaign. “We are working on that. Part of our plan is to get the message out better and to get more efficient.”

Could it be that the cars are simply too small for US buyers’ taste? Ian Fletcher, a principal analyst for London firm IHS, seems to think so. “The subcompact market in the US is extremely small”, he said. “It will have a point where it has reached a critical mass”. The solution, he adds, could be that Mini should “create a range that is more focused on the US market” rather than simply bringing its Euro-sized cars overseas.

By Andrew Tsaousis

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