It was a night of launches for ATL Autobahn as the local dealers for the BMW and MINI brands pulled off several vehicle unveilings across the two marques at their Lady Musgrave Road showroom, on Friday, June 7.

“This is a big event for us because we haven’t done a lyme in a very long time, and it’s something of a staple for us as a way for customers to interact with our products without the actual sales feeling,” Sloane Jackson, head of business, ATL Autobahn, told the Jamaica Observer’s weekly
Auto magazine.

The night began with the MINI products. Mellisa Bailey, sales manager, MINI, had hinted in November at the ATL Revolution 2023 auto show that 2024 would be a big year for MINI. All new for their showroom floor was the MINI Cooper and its sport utility vehicle stablemate, the Countryman.

“The Countryman is literally the bread and butter for MINI. It’s a crowd-favourite for Jamaica, Jamaica’s favourite MINI, so it’s the most important model for us. It’s grown in size and we’re hoping to grow in market share and customer base,” said Bailey.

Both the Cooper 3 door and Countryman were big news; however, the Countryman has been a sales hit in Jamaica and Bailey unveiled the EV variant.

“We started with the MINI Cooper SE, we’ve moved on to the MINI Countryman being full-electric, and we have one more full-electric model to come, so stay tuned,” she said.

With Jackson revealing the news that Jamaica had the highest take up of John Cooper Works (JCW) models per capita in the world, MINIacs were also treated the brand new Countryman JCW. Bailey highlighted that the base Cooper 3 door now comes with more technology and horsepower, while the Cooper S crosses over the 200 horsepower mark.

“This is MINI’s year. The next-gen of MINI is going to be exciting, so we’re looking forward to the next models that we’re going to unveil in a couple of months. Yes, the next-gen of MINI, iconic,” Bailey said.

For BMW, they were proud to announce their all-new SUV — the X2 and all its variants.

“They BMW X2 is a very important vehicle for us, because it’s our most affordable compact SUV. The strange thing is that the X1 was for a while our best-selling car, but when we introduced the X2 it didn’t get a launch like we’re doing tonight and it didn’t do as well as the X1,” said Jackson.

He chalked that up to the unusual styling of the X2, as it didn’t follow the traditional BMW design philosophy of mimicking the upper models. While the X4 looks like a smaller X6, the previous generation X2 had a more hatchback shape.

“We believe with this new car, because it now fits the body style of the X4 and the X6, and the price range is just right we expect this to be porridge that’s good, not too hot, not too cold, just right, and we expect a lot of customers to go into it,” said Jackson.

Beyond the restyled exterior and interior, the X2 xDrive20i offers sporty performance with 204 horsepower engine. For those who want more, there is an X2 m35i with 315 horsepower on tap. BMW also continues its push into the EV space with the iX2.

Jackson took the opportunity to show off the current generation BMW M2 coupé and BMW XM Label Red. He further revealed that BMW Connect is now available across both the MINI and BMW line, allowing for mobile app access and control of such equipped vehicles.