BMW has confirmed it will build its next-generation electric Minis in Oxford after securing a government funding package, as exclusively revealed by the Daily Mail and This is Money more than a week ago.
The German-owned brand will pump £600million investment to transform Mini’s Cowley factory – a move described by both BMW and the Government as ‘a vote of confidence in Britain’ and one that will safeguard a national automotive icon.
It will secure 4,000 UK jobs and see the Oxford site become an electric-only production line from 2030.
Government sources have declined to set out the level of taxpayer support being offered to BMW, but did not dispute the previously reported figure of £75million.
Mini production to be kept in Britain: A landmark deal – including significant government funding – to build a new generation of electric cars at the Cowley factory has been confirmed. Pictured: Milan Nedeljković, member of the board of management of BMW AG Group with the new Mini Cooper Electric
Production of two new electric Mini models is expected to begin at the upgraded factory from 2026, with both the new Mini Cooper SE and Aceman crossover to be made at Plant Oxford.
The move will safeguard the future of Cowley vehicle factory, as well as the body pressing plant in Swindon.
More than 4,000 people currently work across the two sites.
The new deal brings BMW Group investment at Oxford, Swindon and the Hams Hall engine plant near Birmingham to £3billion since 2000 when the new, reborn – and larger – BMW Mini was launched.
This came just over 40 years after Sir Alec Issigonis’s original tiny ’10ft square box’ – which transformed the world – was unveiled in 1959.
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Commenting on the announcement, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said: ‘BMW Group’s investment is another shining example of how the UK is the best place to build cars of the future.
‘By backing our car manufacturing industry, we are securing thousands of jobs and growing our economy right across the country.’
Business and Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch, who attended the Cowley factory for the announcement, added: ‘This decision is a big vote of confidence in the UK economy and the work of this Government to ensure the continued strength of our world-leading automotive sector.
‘We are proud to be able to support BMW Group’s investment, which will secure high-quality jobs, strengthen our supply chains, and boost Britain’s economic growth.’
The £600million investment in Mini Plant Oxford was made on Monday morning at the Cowley production facility
BMW bosses said they had made the announcement despite UK Mini production likely to be in breach of controversial ‘rules of origin’ affecting European car manufacturing
Milan Nedeljković, member of the board at BMW, pictured alongside Business and Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch, who attended the announcement on Monday morning
BMW bosses said the multi-million-pound investment will transform the Oxford plant so it can produce around 200,000 cars per year in the medium term, with the long-term goal for it to exclusively make EVs from 2030
While the government has refused to divulge its amount of funding, its total investment into the automotive sector in recent years is set to surpass £6billion.
Mike Hawes, chief executive of the UK’s Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said: ‘BMW’s landmark announcement is yet another vote of confidence in UK automotive manufacturing.
‘Not only does it secure the long-term future of the home of one of the world’s most iconic brands, it also demonstrates once again our capabilities in electric vehicle [EV] production.’
Explaining why UK plc was open for international trade and business he added: ‘British automotive manufacturing has clear advantages – a skilled, highly productive workforce, cutting edge plants, a diverse vibrant supply chain and world-class research and development – all of which we must continue to promote in the face of fierce global competition.
‘Investments such as this improve productivity and help deliver jobs, growth and economic benefits for the country.’
Pictured: The new all-electric Mini Cooper – which debuted at the IAA international motor show in Munich earlier this month – is one of two battery models to be built at Oxford from 2026
The EV Mini Cooper is available in two options, E and SE, and is priced from £30,000 and has a range of up to 250 miles
The second model set to be built at Mini Plant Oxford in Cowley is the forthcoming Aceman crossover. It hasn’t been revealed in full yet, but a near-production concept was shown last year
BMW bosses said they had made the announcement despite UK Mini production likely to be in breach of controversial ‘rules of origin’ affecting European car manufacturing.
Under the regulations set out in the post-Brexit Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA), cars entering the bloc must contain a minimum of 40 per cent of their parts by value that originate in either the UK or the EU. Those that fail to meet this threshold from 2024 are subject to tariffs of ten per cent.
For EVs, the majority of the total value of parts is the batteries, which are not – at this moment in time – produced in Britain.
Mini, for instance, will have to import its batteries from China. But directors said they were working on a solution – which may include the EU relaxing the rules while a European source of batteries is sought.
German car makers have huge sway over the EU, given that Germany is such an important economic power-house underwriting – with its industrial and financial might – much EU policy.
BMW director Milan Nedeljković said on Sky News that BMW is talking to the EU and would ‘lobby hard’ for an extension beyond January.
Along with Chinese partners Great Wall he said: ‘We are looking for a suitable site inside Europe to build batteries.’
He said the brand is ‘doing our best’ to meet the conditions and is ‘optimistic’ they would meet them in the future.
BMW also expressed doubts that the UK Government’s 2030 deadline on banning petrol and diesel cars would hold, given the lack of charging infrastructure.
Today’s announcement is set to secure around 4,000 jobs in the UK at Mini Plant Oxford (pictured) and at a second site in Swindon
Stefanie Wurst, global head of the Mini brand, pictured with the brand’s just-revealed new electric models – the Mini Cooper SE (left) and Countryman SE ALL4 (right)
Oxford to become an EV-only production site in 2030
BMW bosses said the multi-million-pound investment will transform the Oxford plant so it can produce around 200,000 cars per year in the medium term, with the long-term goal for it to exclusively make EVs from 2030.
At the official announcement made on the production line at the Oxford factory, BMW said: ‘The Oxford plant is gearing-up to build two new all-electric Mini models from 2026, the three-door Mini Cooper and the compact crossover Mini Aceman.
As a result, Oxford will ‘remain the Home of Mini’, it confirmed, noting: ‘The Oxford plant celebrated its 110th anniversary this year and has been successfully producing the current Mini Electric since 2019, where it is fully integrated into the production line with the conventional (ICE) models.’
The news means Mini is now ‘accelerating toward full electrification’ with a new model line-up and an enhanced production network.
Nedeljković said: ‘With this new investment we will develop the Oxford plant for production of the new generation of electric Minis and set the path for purely electric car manufacturing in the future.’
Stefanie Wurst, head of the Mini brand, added: ‘Mini has always been aware of its history – Oxford is and remains the heart of the brand.
‘I am delighted that the two new, fully electric Mini models – the Mini Cooper and Mini Aceman – are also being produced in Oxford, thereby confirming our path to a fully electric future.
‘The continuing high demand for our locally emission-free vehicles shows the openness of the global Mini community to electromobility, which we will be able to serve optimally in the future, also thanks to Oxford.’
Mini’s acceleration towards full electrification will – significantly – include production in the UK, it was confirmed on Monday. Pictured: the new Mini Cooper Electric in front of a London backdrop
Timeline for Plant Oxford following £600m investment
Mini Plant Oxford currently produces the previous generation three and five-door hatchbacks as well as the Clubman estate and the Mini Electric.
From 2024, the plant will start producing the next generation Mini three-door and five-door with combustion engines, as well as the new Mini Convertible, before they are joined by the new all-electric vehicles in 2026.
And from 2030, the Oxford Plant will produce all-electric Mini models exclusively.
The Oxford factory currently churns out around 1,000 Minis a day – that’s one every 67 seconds.
In terms of production output, Mini is Britain’s third biggest car maker behind Nissan and Jaguar Land Rover.
In 2022, it manufactured a total of 186,222 vehicles – both Mini hatchbacks and Clubman estates – at the Oxford plant.
Around 40,000 of these were electric Minis, which represented more than 50 per cent of all fully-electric vehicles manufactured in the UK last year.
In terms of production output, Mini is Britain’s third biggest car maker behind Nissan and Jaguar Land Rover. In 2022, it manufactured a total of 186,222 vehicles – both Mini hatchbacks and Clubman estates – at the Cowley plant (pictured)
Global head of the Mini brand at BMW, Stefanie Wurst, hinted to the Daily Mail and This is Money earlier this month that a deal for Oxford was nearing
BMW said: ‘Today’s investment announcement will impact all main production areas in Oxford. The existing production lines will be developed further, with the key changes being an extension of the current body shop and a new area for battery installation.’
Markus Grüneisl, CEO of Plants Oxford and Swindon said: ‘I am proud to say that our Oxford and Swindon plants will play a central role in the BMW Group’s transition to electromobility.
‘We are determined to continue the historic success story of our plants, producing the most loved British car brand.’
The £600million investment will fund upgrades to assembly lines, extending the body shop and building a new area for installing batteries.
READ MORE: Inside the UK’s first electric vehicle-only factory in the North West where production of battery-powered Vauxhall vans started this month
It also plans to build additional logistics facilities at Cowley and at the Swindon factory – which makes body panels for new vehicles.
BMW said: ‘The Oxford and Swindon plants already use digitalisation and virtual planning tools to configure buildings and systems today, streamlining the planning of logistics routes and material, traffic flows and even the movement of employees.
‘The whole of Plant Oxford and Swindon will be 3D-scanned in minute detail this year to obtain a full set of digital data of both the building and its systems’.
A significant part of the Oxford revamp, turning it into an environmentally-friendly ‘iFactory’, will be to make the factory and production processes greener and more environmentally-friendly.
BMW said: ‘A holistic approach aimed at reducing CO2 emissions and minimising resource consumption underpins Plant Oxford’s sustainability credentials.
‘For example, the body shop has one of the largest, roof-mounted solar farms in the UK. It has more than 11,500 photovoltaic panels and covers 20,000 square metres, an area equivalent to five football pitches.’
It generates enough electricity to power the equivalent of 850 households – over three megawatts – and reduces the plant’s carbon ‘footprint’ by approximately 1,500 tonnes of CO2 per year.
Ian Plummer, commercial director of Auto Trader, says BMW’s decision to keep electric Mini production in the UK provides a ‘desperately needed stake in the future of the electrified car market’ and ‘cements the continuation of Britain’s manufacturing heritage’.
He added: ‘With an ever-growing number of electric vehicles on UK roads and the used electric car market showing record levels of demand, it’s clear EVs will be central to the future of the automotive industry and so it’s vital that Britain is actively engaged in the process.’
The Cowley factory – which dates back to 1912 – has been the production home of Mini’s previous-generation Mini Electric since 2019, however its new Cooper hatchback is set to built in China in a joint venture with car maker Great Wall
Around 40,000 electric Minis were built at Oxford last year, though BMW bosses had already confirmed that manufacturing of the next-generation battery-powered hatchback will move to China
Mini announcement completes hat-trick of automotive boosts for Britain in recent weeks
Today’s announcement will complete a hat-trick of boosts for the British auto sector in the last two months.
Just last week, EV production began at Stellantis’s revamped factory in Ellesmere Port after an £100million investment, following doubts due to post-Brexit trading arrangements.
Battery-powered vans such as the Vauxhall Combo Electric, Opel Combo Electric, Peugeot e-Partner, Citroen e-Berlingo and Fiat E-Doblo will be made at the Cheshire site, as well as the electric MPVs that share the same platform.
Officially re-opening the former Vauxhall Astra production site, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said BMW’s investment was a ‘huge vote of confidence in this country as a global leader in electric vehicles’.
The announcement also comes less than two months after India’s Tata said it will invest £4billion in an electric battery plant in Somerset to supply its Jaguar Land Rover factories – a move seen as vital for the UK car industry’s continued survival in the electric age.
Mark Tisshaw, editor, Autocar Business, says that of the five major car makers building vehicles in Britain, four have now confirmed plans or are already building electric vehicles in the UK: JLR, Stellantis, Mini and Nissan, which has partnered with Envision AESC to built an EV battery factory near its Sunderland car plant.
‘The future of UK car manufacturing in the electric era has long felt uncertain, but with each passing announcement positivity grows that the car building industry can not only survive but thrive,’ Tisshaw said.
Figures last month showed that UK car production increased by almost a third last month compared to a year ago as car makers continue their recovery from the pandemic and global part supply chain issues.
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