Strong sales, high costs: Why BMW needs to rethink Mini’s future

Amid all the talk of cost-cutting on BMW’s recent earnings call, there was a moment of awkwardness when one analyst asked whether the Mini brand should be given the chop: “It looks to me that Mini is loss-making. Is that a brand BMW really needs long term?”

Unusually, the head of the brand was actually on the call. Stefan Richmann was fielding questions in his other role as group treasurer, but instead of answering he got mock offended. “That hurt me personally,” he said, without clarifying whether the pain arose from an accurate hit or the mere suggestion.