Mini hits 500,000 cars sold in US

It may seem like only yesterday when Mini entered the US to sell its cars, but it's been 11 years since the car maker began selling its vehicles in the states. In that time frame, Mini has sold 500,000 of its cars in the US, marking a new milestone for the British car manufacturer, which is owned by BMW.

Mini has increased its US sales from 24,590 units in 2002, to 66,123 units last year. The Mini Cooper has easily been one of the company's most popular vehicles, but they also have a small selection of variations of the popular car, including the Hardtop, Clubman, Convertible, Countryman, Coupe, Roadster, and Paceman.

As for Mini dealership around the US, there are currently 116 locations spilled out over the states, but the car maker plans for a total of around 130 locations by the end of this year, with construction already under way on some of those new locations. Of course, though, 500,000 sold in 11 years isn't anything to write home about when you're General Motors, but for a boutique manufacturer, this is rather impressive.

Mini originally started as a specific car model, built by the British Motor Corporation (BMC) from 1959 until 2000 when BMW bought the naming rights of Mini. From there, the company built new models of the Mini, and while the new look is rather different from the original Mini, the new models still retain the same 4-cylinder, all-wheel drive configuration.

[via Automotive World]