I recall viewing some of the dealer stickers for the MINI's and came away with following perception regarding the parts breakdown: 30% UK, 30% France (including engine), 30% German (including the transmission) and about 5% USA parts. Perhaps that was from stickers on one of the coupe's because...here's what I recall my dealer sticker indicated:

30% UK, 30% France (including engine), Auto Transmission - Japan (no percentage listed) and that was it ?

What does your dealer sticker indicate ?

 

5% US/Canadian

35% United Kingdom

25% Germany

"Note: Parts content does not include final assembly, distribution, or other non-part costs"

Not sure how to interpret that disclaimer on the sticker. It may be somewhat of a misnomer. Due to the addition at final assembly in Oxford of the engine from France and the Japanese transmission, the 5/35/25 percentages might not be a true reflection of the aggregate content.

Here's another burning question. Is the parts percentage based upon actual item count, or acquisition cost? The car may have 1,175 machine screws from England which cost all of £65, while there are three Canadian sourced smog related parts which cost C$350.

 

From the tour, we were told the petrol engines were assembled just a few miles up the road (which produces all BMW 4 cylinder engines) while diesel engines come from France. Are diesel MINIs available in the US yet?

 

No

 

Reading the responses, I would have thought there would have been some consistency in the stickers. Also, the comment regarding the assembly of the engines is equally confusing since my sticker indicates it is an engine from France. Then whether the percentage is reflecting parts count, cost ...throws addl confusion into this whole thing.

I guess it does not make a whole lot of difference anyway. Most important thing is that your MINI runs fine and so far....2 weeks out of the dealership it has been perfect !

Still......this thing regarding the parts breakdown and where eveything comes from percentage-wise still has my curiosity. I may do a little bit more searching on this if I have time. If anyone else can shed some light on all of this...make some sense out of what is reported on the sticker with the parts breakdown getting us at least most of the way to accounting for 90% of where the parts come from that would be appreciated...for trivia sake alone.

 

There was an article in National Geographic back in 03-04 that explained where all the parts for MINIs came from.

Mark