New 2014 Mini to get even more personalised

Mini is set to increase the opportunites for buyers to personalise cars, offering even more colour and trim options.

Speaking to What Car?, Mini boss Peter Schwarzenbauer revealed that the latest Mini will eventually offer the ability for buyers to change colour and trim options on their car during its life. ‘We want to give customers the chance for more decoration,’ he said.

‘They will be able to change things like interior panels and door mirrors – in fact, anything that doesn’t affect the safety.’ The plan would be for dealers to fit some components, but simpler upgrades could also be done by customers.

Mini customers will also get the opportunity to download apps to their car, according to Schwarzenbauer. Initially, this could just be technical upgrades to the infotainment system but could also extend to ‘hardware’ such as heated seats.

‘It’s a couple of years away but it will come,' he said. 'It’s hard to retro-fit something like seat heaters but why not ask customers to pay for them and then remotely activate them? It would also be useful for used car buyers.’

Mini’s boss also wants to add more powertrain options to the new model, including electric power. ‘Electrification will come because Mini is the ultimate urban brand, but we need to work out the correct technical solution: EV, plugin hybrid or a range-extender like the BMW i3.’