Mini Cooper SE owners urged to trade in for new models to boost used EV inventory

Mini USA is urging owners of its popular electric vehicle to trade it in for a new EV so the automaker can boost its used car inventory to have cars available for drivers who want to try electric on a budget

The automaker launched the Mini Cooper SE all-electric car in March 2020. Unlike many other automakers, Mini USA's strategy was to price it low, starting at $29,900, and to not offer leasing on it. It was "wildly successful," said Patrick McKenna, department head of Mini USA Marketing, Product and Strategy.

"In three years, we’ve sold 8,000, which exceeded our expectations," McKenna said. For all of last year, Mini sold 29,500 cars in the United States, which is less than 1% of the market share. General Motors, the top-selling automaker, sold 2.27 million cars in the United States last year.

"It got great owner reviews," McKenna added.

In the J.D. Power 2023 U.S. Electric Vehicle Experience Ownership study released in February, Mini's EV earned the highest satisfaction score of any EV model in the study’s highest-weighted index factor, quality and reliability. In fact, few owners are ready to let go and trade their EVs in for a newer model, McKenna said.

So about two months ago, McKenna started a direct mail campaign to some of those early adopters, urging them to trade in their Mini Cooper SEs for a newer model. The flyer encourages owners to take advantage of rich trade-in prices. Likewise, McKenna would like to see more buyers who are ready to try an EV but can't afford the sky-high prices of new ones, consider a lower-priced used EV instead. The SE is getting a $1,000 price bump for the 2024 model year to $30,900, he said.

"The fact that I have to do a campaign to convince people to bring their cars back is indicative of the times we’re living in," McKenna said. "We have a drought of used cars from a manufacturer's standpoint ... on both the internal combustion side and the EV side."

Mini is alone in its used EV quest

None of the Detroit or mainstream Asian automakers are running campaigns to boost trade-ins of pre-owned EVs. For some, it's too soon because their EVs haven't been out long enough to warrant trade-ins. For example, at Subaru of America, spokesman Dominick Infante told the Free Press, "As we have only recently begun EV sales, it’s too early to reacquire vehicles in any numbers. Given the supply chain issues we have faced over the last three years, our days’ supply of EVs is adequate."

At Toyota Motor North America, spokesman Ed Hellwig said the automaker sold a total of 3,652 of the 2023 bZ4X, its only all-electric vehicle, between last year and the first four months of this year. But he did not know whether any of them have come back into inventory as used vehicles yet.

Ford Motor Co. is trying to sell what used EVs it can by removing consumer qualms about buying a used EV with its Ford Blue Advantage EV Certification program, which it launched on March 1. Since launching the program, through May 23, Ford Blue Advantage has sold 461 EV-certified vehicles, said Ford spokesperson Cathleen O'Hare.

For Mini, another reason to want used EVs in stock is to assure dealers have EVs to offer customers if there are any production delays as Mini rolls out new EVs.

The Mini Cooper SE continues production through January next year, McKenna said. The next EV model to come from Mini is the Countryman version, a slightly bigger car. It is expected to arrive in the United States starting in September 2024.

"As the next generation Mini EV hardtop is still pending final confirmation for the U.S. market, it is too early to confirm a date for market launch at this time," McKenna said.

Mini, which is owned by BMW, has not revealed the starting price for the Countryman EV. In March, executives estimated the Countryman EV's range for the European Union at 440 kilometers (273 miles) on a full charge for the version that will be sold overseas. For the model coming to the States, published reports estimate it will get 204 miles of range.

Getting a new EV

Gerry Goris, 52, of Buffalo, New York, was one of Mini’s early EV adopters. He ordered his 2020 Mini Signature Cooper SE in British Racing Green in December 2019 and took delivery of it in March 2020.

Goris chose Mini for his first all-electric car after he impulsively bought a Mini gasoline-powered convertible a couple of years earlier because "I was hitting a midlife crisis and I wanted a summer car with a stick shift."

"I looked at a Camaro and Mustang, but I found a good deal with Mini ... then realized how fun it was to drive."

When he considered his 2020 Mini Cooper SE, the financials made sense: “The car was $34,000, but you had the $7,500 tax credit and New York state had a $1,500 rebate and my wife’s company offered $4,000 cash to buy an electric car,” Goris said. “So that $34,000 became closer to a $20,000 car."

Goris, who now also owns a 2023 Chevrolet Bolt EUV and a 2022 Chevrolet Blazer SUV, wasn't worried about the SE's 110-mile range. He drives it around town and if he wants to go to his vacation spot in Florida, the family takes the Blazer. Still, Goris said he figures he averaged 140 miles on a full charge, topping the estimated 110 miles. And the EV costs him about 3 cents a mile in home-charged electricity to drive compared with his Blazer, which costs him about 20 cents a mile to drive based on $5 a gallon gasoline prices, he said. The EV also needs no oil changes or other maintenance other than tires when required, he said.

Getting rid of the new EV

So Goris wasn't eager to part with his 2020 Mini Cooper SE. But he did trade it in November 2022 because he said:

◾ The federal tax credit was still available.

◾ The used market was short on inventory, therefore driving up trade-in values.

◾ His wife's company reinstituted $4,000 cash for the purchase of an EV.

◾ He wanted a higher trim level with more features on his newer EV.

His new 2022 model in Moonwalk Grey is the top of the line, priced at $38,000, but Goris said he got it for less than what the previous car had cost him.

“Net-net it cost us $20,000, factoring in the equity of the old car and all the rebates," Goris said. "Normally, you would not get that kind of trade-in for a car, especially an electric car, but I think times are changing for the electric cars.”

Trading in a Mini

Goris got about $28,000 for his 2020 Mini Signature Cooper SE from the local dealer, almost its list price. But he is one of only a handful of early adopters to trade in.

McKenna said as he looks through Mini dealer websites, the inventory of the used Mini EVs is “very limited." But through May 30, Mini dealers have sold 110 used EVs and he said, "we anticipate that this number will increase as owners take advantage of trading up to a new" EV. McKenna was unable to provide an exact count of dealership used EV inventory.

But, when one does come in stock, it sells fairly quickly because they’re somewhat rare, McKenna said.

For example, at Motor City Mini in Southfield, Michigan, there was just one used EV in recent weeks: a 2022 Mini Signature Cooper SE in Chili Red, with 7,078 miles on it and priced at $28,988. At its price, it is too expensive to qualify for the $4,000 federal tax incentive, McKenna said, but the vehicle still sold within several days of arriving.

"We’re still in a used car market that is in a shortage situation, the cars are trading at very high values," McKenna said.

While used EVs are growing in popularity, experts urge consumers to use caution when buying one. Have a certified mechanic look at the battery health first or get one from a certified program such as Ford's Blue Advantage. McKenna said Mini service technicians get specific training and can evaluate battery health, plus every EV comes with an eight-year or 100,000-mile warranty "that promises the battery will stay at 70% capacity," he said. "There is some natural degradation of the battery over time, but that is the useful life that you need.”

Of the 8,000 EVs Mini has sold to date, about 1,500 are from the 2020 and 2021 model years, which McKenna hopes to add to used inventory.

"We’re not offering (owners) anything other than telling them they can trade it in and trade up to a new Mini EV," McKenna said. "It’s just a suggestion. We don’t need to incentivize them, we’d just love to have that car back as a used car and get them into a new EV.”

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Contact Jamie L. LaReau: jlareau@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @jlareauan. Read more on General Motors and sign up for our autos newsletter. Become a subscriber.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Mini Cooper SE owners urged to trade in for new models: Here's why