After launching India’s most affordable luxury EV at the Bharat Mobility Show in January 2025 – the iX1 LWB for Rs 49.9 lakh – BMW drove in the country’s most affordable convertible car on Friday, the MINI Convertible for Rs 58.5 lakh.
Convertible cars – with a retractable roof that can be opened and folded down to allow for an open-air driving experience – are usually expensive because of their high engineering costs and because they cater to a niche clientele. The next most affordable convertible in India is MG Cyberster (Rs 75 lakh), BMW Z4 (Rs 87.9 lakh), Mercedes-Benz CLE Cabriolet (Rs 1.11 crore), Mercedes-AMG SL Roadster (Rs 2.34 crore), followed by models from Porsche, Lamborghini, and Ferrari (mostly Rs 3 crore and above).
Performance and Feature
The MINI Convertible has a 2.0-litre petrol engine capable of accelerating it from 0-100 km/h in just 6.9 seconds, and its electrically-folding soft top can be fully opened in just 18 seconds and closed in 15 seconds. Hardeep Singh Brar, president & CEO, BMW Group India, said that life is too short for boring cars, and this model is built to stand out.
MINI – the British brand owned by BMW – first launched in India in 2012, and has sold 7,500 units cumulatively. “It’s a niche brand catering to select clientele, and sells 600-700 units per year,” Brar said. “That ensures it remains highly exclusive and desirable, instead of chasing numbers.”
BMW Group India Set for Record-Breaking Sales
On the overall BMW Group India’s sales performance, Brar said that 2025 is set to be the best year, beating the previous high of 2024. “Last calendar year we sold 15,721 cars – BMW sales of 15,012 units, and MINI sales of 709 units – but this year we are set to break that record,” he said. “The overall economic growth and the high spending power of India’s rich and upper middle class is helping that growth.”
Post the GST effective tax reduction from 43-50% to 40% starting September 22, 2025, prices of all luxury cars have dropped, and Brar said this also had a minor impact on sales, but the full impact will be felt a couple of months down the line.
