Mini Says It Isn’t Considering Any Smaller Cars

Mini has confirmed that it has no intention of launching a car smaller than its current hatchback, Car Advice reports.

Speaking on a visit to Australia, Mini global senior vice president Sebastien Mackensen said that the third-generation F56 Mini should stay the same size and won’t be joined by a smaller alternative.

“The F56, overall the core of our brand DNA, probably shouldn’t get bigger I agree, but I wouldn’t right now envision a car getting 20cm shorter [either].

“You know, in the very end also we are in a business and you have to develop the car, and if it is smaller the customer expectation would be that this smaller size would apply to the price as well,” he said.

According to Mackensen, the key reason why a smaller Mini isn’t on the cards is because developing it wouldn’t necessarily cost less than a larger car.

“It’s actually not necessarily cheaper to develop a smaller car. You might use less metal but you still have the same propulsion technology, the same safety tech, and it makes it really hard to get to a positive case there,” he said.

Although the British company won’t launch a Smart ForTwo rival, its first all-electric model is just around the corner and will be built in the UK.