BMW has announced it will invest £250m in its three UK Mini plants by the end of 2015. The investment secures 5500 jobs across its main Oxford plant, its pressing operations in Swindon and its engine manufacturing facility at Hams Hall, Birmingham.
The move comes as Mini revealed it will introduce new models in the mid-term, taking the marque’s line-up to 10 different models.
Today’s announcement is in addition to the £500m investment announced in 2011. BMW has invested £1.75bn in UK production since 2000.
Harald Krüger, member of the board of management at the BMW Group, said: "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."
As part of Mini’s expansion, it is seeking production partners overseas. Krüger said: "Our preferred option is to establish a contract manufacturer as a satellite production as close to our UK operations as possible, at the Nedcar plant in the Netherlands, with whom BMW is in discussions."
The Nedcar plant, which has recently stopped producing cars for Mitsubishi, could be awarded the contract to produce the Countryman from Magna. Such a move would suggest the Paceman, a Countryman variant, would also be produced at Nedcar.
