Well, demand is not universal. I checked the Canadian inventory, pretty flat for 3 months, ~30 available nation-wide. Note : my local dealer sold theirs within the first week, wasn't even able to book a test drive before it was sold, I live in an EV oriented location with Tesla's everywhere, but other places in Canada have their single Mini SE still listed.
Earlier in this thread, I noted one sad reason that demand isn't strong in Canada: Are all the Canadian MINI Electrics the "First Edition" labeled versions or were there multiple shipments to the country? No such labeled version was available in the US.
There are half a dozen base spec that would be $35K CAD after Federal rebate available ... that's cheaper than the gas Mini same spec... not sure it's price that is the issue.
The pre-incentive $39,990 Canadian price converts to $29.4K USD, which is slightly cheaper than the base price in the US, so I stand corrected, the price is not the major reason for the lack of demand, but believe it is still one of the reasons. Canadians buy more Honda Civics than any other car, and the MINI Cooper SE can't match the Civic's combination of price and practicality. I just read that Malaysia has been added to the list of countries waiting for the MINI Cooper SE. If just a few of these cars are sold in every county on this ever-growing list, that will represent a significant demand beyond North America.
Originally there was just one when Dealer in Arizona (in Scottsdale) we bought our first car, which was ordered from the factory just like the SE. There was no negotiations at that time, it was MSRP take it or leave it. The next nearest dealer was in the Los Angles (350 miles away) so there was nothing to negotiate. Now there are two Mini Dealers in the Phoenix area, both owned by Penske Auto. There is one in Tuscon, about 120 miles south. The dealer I went to agreed to a small discount as he knows there is another I could go to the other one. But both are owned by the same corporate parent. And they do not have a car on their lot that they have to get rid off. So on one hand there is no need for them to negotiate. On the other hand, if they want to be prepared for selling this car, they need to get some sales. Not sure which way they will go or how best to negotiate with them.
MINI sales are down in general and that should be enough motivation for dealers. Ask and you shall receive!!
Update, only 3 left at the lowest price spec $40K CAD ($35K CAD after rebate) , the rest are premium $48K CAD ($43K CAD after rebate). A green one came up today, whew, that's a nice change, most of the rest are white. The green speaks to me, but my wife recently saw a Tesla Model Y and is asking about it ... shivers
I'm ready to buy (order) an SE, and here's been my experience so far. Since I live about an hour's drive from any MINI Dealer, I've contacted four dealers (five, counting one about two hours away). The dealers all ask if I have made a deposit and are resistant to tell me a price Once I got across to them that I want to hear their offer, two dealers (so far) used the phrase, "non-negotiable" or "will we not be discounting" and have quoted MSRP My thought is that I get in touch with all five dealers and see if any of them are willing to budge to get my sale They are doing their best to not give any ground. For example: "because the MINI SE is an order-only, limited production, specialty vehicle, it is non-negotiable, so the quote I'd be providing would be at sticker price." ... that's the strongest wording so far. But I tend not to believe such statements.
I'm not at all surprised that a vehicle as scarce as the SE is not being discounted. I'm sure it happens, but I bet it's the exception to the rule. My main dealership question (when I get ready to deposit) will be the exact taxes and fees which will be added to the MSRP. I don't want any surprises after reading some of the experiences on this forum.
FYI: two dealers did provide an "out the door" price, which added (only) sales tax, documentary fee ($85), and license, title, and registration ($580). The destination charge is already shown in the MiniUSA vehicle configuration tool. (This was for the Iconic Trim, and in California. Your milage may vary!)
I believe there's only one member of this forum (I forgot who it was) who got a discount, but it was on a car already at the dealer, not one being ordered. The other way you can go is to try to get any extras you actually want (stripes, roof decal, black door handles, etc.) at no extra cost.
I did get a $1600 discount on my car when I placed my order. Be sure to ask for the discount before you select the dealer (assuming you have multiple dealers in the area and you were able to play them against each other) and pay the $500 deposit. But I am also in a state that offers no state-incentive and this was in July.
We have 3 dealers in our state. Two would be hard to make the drive home on a single charge LOL No state incentives here either. In fact our state decided to punish electric owners because they think we don't pay enough in tax to cover roads. So totally screwed here and pay more at yearly renewals than ICE cars. I'll see what we can do when I get it early next year. I'm not expecting much.
My state also has an EV surcharge on annual renewals. I do get it, since we're not paying gas tax for road maintenance. I'm more disappointed my state doesn't offer any purchase incentives, except a one-time $250 credit so you can use HOV lanes without multiple occupants. Which is only useful if you happen to have an HOV route along your regular route.
I get paying for roads, but they amount they charge is much higher than most pay in gas taxes here per math others have done. I'll be taking a huge hit since my mileage is much lower than average. Those who fought it stated it needed to be slashed by a decent percentage and that they are gouging for those with cleaner vehicles. I think if they need taxes, they could make it a flat fee for all. We are $200 a year - on of the highest state I've seen. It should be 1/3-1/2 of that
Agree. SC is not EV-friendly in general - but the fee here is $60 per year. (It's billed $120 every two years)
Our annual Michigan vehicle registration includes a $100 Plug-In Electric Vehicle Fee for our MINI Cooper SE BEV. The fee for our Honda Clarity PHEV is $30. Even though the home-grown automotive companies are all climbing onto the EV bandwagon, Michigan's not a forward-thinking state regarding EVs. The auto-dealer lobby is so successful that the legislature recently re-banned Tesla sales and even service centers in the state. Of course, that law won't affect GM/Ford BEV sales conducted through the traditional dealer network.
