After an extremely successful twelve months, MINI UK was awarded the prestigious honour of Motability Manufacturer Partner in the 'Up to 10,000 registrations' category at the 2011 Motability Supplier Awards.

Since joining the Scheme in 2006, MINI’s Motability offering has gone from strength to strength.  The MINI range starts with the MINI One Hatch at no advance payment and includes the Clubman and Convertible ranges starting at £549 and £499 respectively.  The newest addition to the MINI family is the bigger, four door MINI Countryman model which starts with an advance payment of just £999.  All pricing is confirmed for all orders placed on the Motability Scheme until September 30 2011.

But it was not just the competitive pricing that the judges found appealing; MINI’s extremely low emissions were also a significant factor with the range starting at just 99g/km of CO2 for the MINI One D and MINI Cooper D models.  An array of emission-reducing technologies feature on all the MINIs available on the Motability Scheme and are included at no extra cost to the customer.  Fuel saving can also be significant with the combined consumption of the MINI One D reaching 74.3mpg.

MINI was also recognised for cost savings in servicing, for ensuring that the Motability Dealer Partnership is fully integrated into all areas of its business, and for its increased resource dedicated to working with Motability Operations. With customer service and performance at the forefront of their business, this is a great achievement for MINI.

MINI has already taken more than 1,000 new vehicle orders for the Scheme in 2011 and over 90% of the MINIs purchased though the Motability Scheme will have been built in the UK at the Plant Oxford facility.  A planned £500 million investment in the site was recently announced which could safeguard as many as 5,000 jobs over the next three years.

Mike Betts, Chief Executive, Motability Operations, commented “The Motability Scheme delivers a service that enhances the lives and opportunities for disabled people and their families. The Supplier Awards recognises the performance and consistent excellence across the different types of businesses and people who deliver that service to our customers.  All winners are united by their high standards.”

Stephen Chater, Corporate Operations Manager for BMW Group said “this is an award that we are especially proud to receive.  We work very closely with Motability to ensure we remain competitive, and know that the MINI range can offer so much to Motability customers.  Driving should be fun and exciting and with a growing choice of body shapes in the MINI family, it is a car that appeals to more and more drivers on the Scheme in terms of practicality as well as emissions and low fuel costs.”