Special editions of the Mini tend to be quite expensive, but for the first time the company has actually gone in the opposite direction. They have announced a value focused Oxford Edition, which will be aimed directly towards college students and recent grads. It will start from just $19,750 for the 3 door and $20,750 for the five door. It also comes with $6,900 worth of additional equipment as standard. The bad news is its only available to students who are currently enrolled in an accredited 2 or 4 year college or university, or those who have completed their degree within the past year.

Good on Mini for providing cheaper options for college students. Though to be honest it's probably going to be their parents that are footing the bill anyways. There are plenty of cheaper used options that would probably be a better call.

If only we saw similar incentives for the EV variants when they launch. I'm sure students would welcome the savings from not having to purchase petrol on a weekly basis.

Car sharing companies can take advantage of this because most students just care for fast, efficient and worry free local transportation such as cars.
Also after the 2008 recession and one soon upon us, with all the other common worries at hand, ownership isn't as encouraged.

I think this is going to be a generational thing. It's going to be too difficult to convince those that have spent their whole life owning vehicles not to do so. It's become a status symbol for us, but that may no longer be the case with the next generation of buyers.

I disagree because it comes down to spending. Even older generations aren't doing that well and its getting worse. They will feel the crunch. Eventually as sharing economies grow, so will usage from different demographics. If choice won't sway them, financial pressures will do it.

While it may be more difficult to sway the older demographic to use subscription platforms, if its financially cheaper than owning a vehicle, why wouldn't they? The average length of ownership for a vehicle is significantly less than it used to be, and I think there will be a strong appeal to being able to swap out your car multiple times a year.

Adding to that is uncertainty and with that comes people that are discouraged from signing up to long term loans. For a similar reason we're seeing a boom in renters rather than owners in western cities. A similar massive shift will more than likely take place. It all comes down to mitigating risk.

With the warranty packages that we are seeing on most new electrics, there isn't much to worry about when it comes to repairs. It's the depreciation that we've seen on most early EV's that I think has consumers cautious about buying into the new platform.

I heard that there will be car sharing programs that make use of used vehicles. Its much needed to help sustain vehicle values and if it takes off then deprecation won't be a concern to me.