Start of production for new MINI

Oxford. The MINI plant in Oxford celebrated the world premiere of the new MINI with an official ceremony. Among the guests were British Secretary of State for Transport Patrick McLoughlin; Harald Krüger, member of the Board of Management of BMW AG, responsible for Production and Peter Schwarzenbauer, member of the Board of Management of BMW AG, responsible for MINI, BMW Motorrad, Rolls-Royce and Aftersales.

Harald Krüger at the ceremony: “In our Oxford plant’s centenary year, we are continuing the MINI brand success story and today starting production of the new model generation. Our total investment of 750 million pounds in our British production locations of Oxford, Swindon and Hams Hall between 2012 and 2015 underscores the importance of the MINI production triangle within our global production network. The UK is the heart of MINI production – thanks to the experience, competence and strong commitment of all our employees.”

Peter Schwarzenbauer: “MINI is an inspiration for trend-setters and creative spirits the world over. And with our latest generation of MINI Hatch, we want to excite once again. To ensure the new generation of MINI Hatch is as successful as its predecessors, we have made just subtle modifications to its design. But beneath the outer skin is a brand-new car with state-of-the-art technologies seen for the first time at a small car.”

This investment forms part of the international growth strategy for the MINI brand and secures the long-term future of the Oxford plant, as well as jobs at the Swindon pressing plant and the engine plant in Hams Hall, near Birmingham. The investment programme has mostly targeted efficient and sustainable production structures for the new generation of MINI models in Oxford. More than 1,000 additional latest-generation robots will be deployed in the plant’s body shop, for example; while Hams Hall installed production systems for a new generation of fuel-efficient petrol and diesel engines. The BMW Group has invested a total of around 1.75 billion pounds in its British locations since 2000.

These investments are also linked to a broad-based training and further education campaign for the BMW Group’s employees in the UK. The company opened a new training centre in Oxford in 2012, which is used by the plant’s apprentices. There are more than 190 apprentices across BMW Group’s four UK manufacturing sites at Swindon, Hams Hall, Oxford and Goodwood who are currently participating in a dual vocational training programme based on the German model. The plants’ production employees also received training resulting in a practical qualification equivalent to the British “NVQ (National Vocational Qualification) Level 2”.

With a production volume of 207,789 units in 2012, Plant Oxford is the thirdlargest vehicle manufacturer and exporter in the UK. MINI accounts for 14 per cent of all locally-manufactured passenger cars and 14 per cent of all passenger cars exported from the UK. The MINI Hatch, Convertible, Clubman, Clubvan, Roadster and Coupé models are all produced here.

The success of the MINI brand can be seen in the positive development at Plant Oxford since 2001. Back then, a single shift of around 2,400 employees produced about 300 cars a day. Today, a team of nearly 4,000 works two shifts and builds up to 900 cars a day – reaching a total of more than 2.4 million MINIs to date. More than 1.8 million MINI cars have been exported to over 100 countries since 2001.