MUNICH (Reuters) - BMW (DE:BMWG) will cut its Mini brand range to five models from seven over the long term as the German luxury carmaker aims to sharpen the division's appeal amid increasing competition.
The Mini range, key to BMW's strategy to meet tighter environmental standards, currently includes 3-door and 5-door models and the Paceman crossover coupe.
The British brand will restrict its future model lineup to five so-called "superheroes" including battery-powered vehicles, BMW management board member Peter Schwarzenbauer said on Wednesday at an event in Munich.
"Less is more," said Schwarzenbauer, head of Mini, without giving details of the future core models. "We have to set the right priorities and always remember what premium really means: excellent product substance and a strong, emotionally-appealing brand."
Mini, resurrected by BMW in 2001, is grappling with growing competition from both premium rivals and volume carmakers as customers switch to smaller but zippy models such as Fiat's (MI:FCHA) 500 or Audi's (DE:VOWG_p) (DE:NSUG) A1 subcompact.
Double-digit sales gains in October, November and December may help Mini to match last year's record 305,000 deliveries, Schwarzenbauer said, citing strong demand for the overhauled 3-door model which hit dealerships in March.
"We should also ask whether steadily increasing sales volumes is the only way to go," the executive said, adding he still predicted "a significant increase" in 2015 deliveries.
(Reporting by Irene Preisinger. Writing by Andreas Cremer.; Editing by Jonathan Gould and Susan Thomas)