BMW makes multi-million pound Mini investment in UK

The German car maker will build the next-generation electric Mini at their facility in Oxford

The first generation of Mini electric model was launched at BMW's Oxford plant in 2019. AFP

BMW will build the next generation of electric Mini cars in the UK, after the German car manufacturer stuck a deal with the British government.

A multi-million pound investment will modify BMW's existing plant in Oxford and secure 4,000 jobs in the process, ministers said.

While the British government has declined to set out the exact figure of taxpayer support that BMW was offered to make the move, the previously reported figure of £75 million was not disputed.

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said his government was securing jobs and growing the economy “by backing our car manufacturing industry”.

“BMW's investment is another shining example of how the UK is the best place to build cars of the future,” he said.

'Global leader in electric vehicles'

The first generation of the Mini's electric model was launched at BMW's Oxford plant in 2019. However, the company said last year that it planned to build most of its electric cars in China.

UK Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said BMW's investment was a “huge vote of confidence in this country as a global leader in electric vehicles”.

The government has been driving an initiative to attract car makers to invest and build their electric models in the UK.

Two months ago, India's Tata said it would invest £4 billion in an electric vehicle battery plant in Britain to supply its Jaguar Land Rover factories.

Meanwhile, last week electric vehicle production began at the Stellantis's factory in Ellesmere Port, following a £100 million investment.

The UK's car industry has been motoring ahead recently, confirmed by figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders that showed Britain's car production was almost a third higher in August, when compared with the same month last year.

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