MINI USA MOTORS FOR A GOOD CAUSE WITH LAUNCH OF MINI MOTORING HEARTS VOLUNTEER PROGRAM

National Call for MINI Owners and Auto Enthusiasts Across America to Join
"Heartfelt" Volunteer Initiative

Woodcliff Lake, NJ - March 20, 2006... MINI USA announced today the kick-off of
MINI Motoring Hearts, a brand-new national initiative designed to encourage
current and prospective MINI owners to give back to their communities by
volunteering time to nonprofit organizations. The launch is a call to action
for MINI owners or anyone who wishes to channel their passion and energy
towards making a real and lasting contribution to the community, but may not
know where or how to start.

In addition to participating in charity events held by local MINI dealers,
those who wish to volunteer through MINI Motoring Hearts can select from more
than 37,000 registered nonprofit organizations by logging onto
www.MINIMOTORINGHEARTS.com. The website is able to link people with charitable
organizations that support activities from literacy to the environment based
the individual's personal interests and zip code. True to the MINI brand,
owners can 'customize' their volunteer experience on the site according to
their personal preferences, similarly to the way that they can personalize
their MINIs.

MINI owners and enthusiasts will be able to learn about MINI Motoring Hearts
through the program's website, at MINI dealerships and through national
magazine inserts in national publications.

MINI's marketing and advertising plan also includes a unique partnership with
three major media outlets to produce "Good News Reports." For the first time,
both the New York Daily News and amNewYork will compile all positive and
heartwarming news stories onto a single page entitled the "Good News Page,"
sponsored exclusively by MINI Motoring Hearts. The "Good News Pages" will
launch the week of the New York International Auto Show (April 14-23) and run
every Friday through November. Slate.com will also run a "Good News webpage"
with a MINI banner along the bottom of the web page from mid-April to mid-June.

In addition, for eight weeks from April 17 - June 11, a Supersign above ABC
Studios in New York's Times Square will display a MINI Motoring Hearts
30-second message with a ticker running "Good News" headlines below.

In the spirit of giving back, MINI USA will also be running outdoor and print
insert creative that shares space in the ad with several select charities
including Meals On Wheels and The Nature Conservancy. These creative
executions are purchased by MINI USA and two-thirds of the ad space is
dedicated to a specific charity while the remaining one-third is for MINI's
message of giving back. Eighty outdoor boards nationwide will support these
charitable causes, representing one-third of MINI's overall outdoor placement
for April-May. The shared space advertising will run nationwide in select
publications such as The New Yorker from April through May.

"MINI Motoring Hearts is a call to action to make the world a better place."
said Trudy L. Hardy, Marketing Manager for MINI USA. "We know that MINI owners
are passionate not only about their cars, but about giving back and this
program will give owners the opportunity to channel that passion and energy
towards making a real and lasting contribution."

When participants complete their first volunteer session with a registered
charity of their choice, MINI USA will recognize the participant's good-will
effort and send them an exclusive Motoring Hearts Car Badge as a thank-you for
getting out and doing good.