Word: bmw
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...nine months after the last of the originals rolled off the assembly line, a new, improved Mini has been reborn under the ownership of German automaker BMW. It's longer, wider and more solidly built than the original (which wouldn't be hard, given the old Mini was notorious for leaks and a rear-end assembly that often rusted and collapsed). And while the new Mini may not endure for the next 40 years, it may well do something its predecessor never quite achieved: make money for its manufacturer...
...pumped-up Mini debuts July 7 in Britain and cruises into Continental showrooms in September. BMW has high hopes for the ex-cult favorite, now manufactured at a state-of-the-art assembly plant outside Oxford, England. But analysts wonder if the 100,000 to 125,000 Minis that BMW plans to manufacture each year and sell for roughly $14,000 will ultimately justify the $325 million investment the Bavarian carmaker has sunk into the project. "The big question is: Will they ever turn a reasonable profit?" says Jim Collins, automotive analyst at UBS Warburg...
...BMW and Porsche have defied the notion that keeping pace with tech advances will break an indie carmaker's bank. One reason: parts suppliers have become powerful arbiters of success, as more auto companies outsource R. and D. of their components. Traditionally, Mercedes would develop a new antiskid technology in conjunction with a high-end component maker like Germany's Robert Bosch. Then, after Mercedes had made a splash by being the first to sell cars with the new technology, it would allow Bosch to sell the technology elsewhere. Now the suppliers are driving the process. Says Flynn: "BMW...
What's special about BMW is its management depth and persistence. Two years ago, the company floundered when its attempt to get big--the 1994 takeover of Britain's Rover--went awry. That cost the company $3.9 billion and prompted a flurry of talk that BMW would be bought by Ford or GM or Toyota. But since Milberg emerged as chairman in 1999, the company has stayed ahead of the luxury pack. Although most of its 21 factories are in Europe, BMW built a new plant in Spartanburg, S.C., which now exports the company's popular...
...BMW's Milberg, like top executives at Honda and Fiat, contends that the best way to stay ahead is to rely on partnerships rather than mergers. Schrempp disagrees, telling TIME editors that "consolidation in the industry is far from over." He may be right. But investors around the world are placing wagers on these two visions. And right now, most of the betting is on BMW...