£250m MORE committed to British MINI plants

MINI’s three British manufacturing facilities are to receive additional investment of £250 million to help develop a new range of models here in the UK, BMW Group has today announced.

The investments comes IN ADDITION to £500 million announced last year, which BMW says ensures extra job security for the 5,500 MINI workers currently assembling cars in the UK. It is part of MINI’s medium-term plans to boost volume and launch up to 10 different MINI models.

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The cash investment, which will be implemented by the end of 2015, will be spread across MINI’s three production facilities – the car assembly plant in Oxford, engine assembly plant in Hams Hall and the body production plant in Swindon.

The latest sum means MINI has invested a staggering £1.75 billion since 2000, said Harald Krueger, Member of the Board of Management, BMW Group. The Group also contributes £1.2 billion each year to UK GDP, and exports four in five MINIs overseas.

“Over the last 11 years, MINI has been a unique global success and the BMW Group has even greater plans for the future development of the brand. Plant Oxford has played a major role in this with cars being exported to over 100 countries around the world.

“This additional investment is great news for all our employees in the UK and shows the BMW Group’s commitment to Britain as a vital manufacturing base for us.”

Dr Vince Cable will also attend the press announcement, timed to coincide with the Olympic Torch Relay visiting MINI Plant Oxford later today. “BMW’s ambitious plans for MINI will ensure its UK sites at Oxford, Swindon and Hams Hall remain at the centre of MINI production worldwide,” he said.

“The investment of £250 million in addition to the £500 million last year demonstrates BMW’s commitment to the UK and safeguards jobs for the future.”

BMW has also moved to reassure Brits that the home of MINI production will remain in the UK – but that extra production capacity “beyond Oxford’s maximum capacity is needed in the medium term and the company is now considering how to achieve this”.

The firm says a satellite production site as near to the UK as possible is the preferred option to resolving this expected capacity constraint – which is why it’s discussing to take over the former Mitsubishi Nedcar plant in The Netherlands.

“Oxford will provide special MINI production expertise for any new operation, particularly in the areas of dealing with the high complexity and customer individuality which MINI demands and in operating state-of-the-art, multi-model production lines.

“Just as Munich is the centre of the BMW world, Oxford is and will remain the home and the heart of MINI.”

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