Fully Charged at Plant Oxford - Dr Milan Nedeljković, The Rt Hon Kemi Badenoch MP and Dr Markus Grüneisl. Foto: BMW Group
The BMW Group has announced plans to invest more than £600 million in the MINI plants in Oxford and Swindon. The Oxford plant is preparing to build two new all-electric MINI models from 2026: the MINI Cooper 3-door and the compact MINI Aceman crossover. From 2030, the production volume will be all-electric. In total, the BMW Group will then have invested more than GBP 3 billion in the Swindon, Hams Hall and Oxford plants. Supported by the British government, the conversion of the plants will help safeguard jobs in Oxford and Swindon.
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 MINI plant in Oxford currently produces the MINI 3-door, the MINI 5-door as well as the MINI Clubman and the MINI Electric. From 2024, the plant will produce the next generation of the MINI 3-door and MINI 5-door with combustion engine, as well as the new MINI Convertible, before adding the new all-electric vehicles – the MINI Cooper 3-door and MINI Aceman – in 2026.
The plant will reach a production capacity of around 200,000 vehicles per year in the medium term, with ICE and battery-electric vehicles initially being manufactured on the same production line. From 2030, the Oxford plant will exclusively produce fully electric MINI models. In addition, production of the new MINI Countryman will begin at the BMW Group Plant Leipzig in a few weeks. The larger crossover model in the MINI model range will be offered with both pure electric drive and combustion engines. Production of the next generation of the all-electric MINI Cooper 3-door and the MINI Aceman will begin in China. The new production facility in Zhangjiagang in Jiangsu Province is based on a joint venture with Great Wall Motor. Exports will begin in early 2024.
