MINI Plant Oxford goes Electric with £600m Investment

The MINI Plant Oxford will transform into to all-electric production facility from 2030 as part of a £600 million investment, BMW Group has today announced. Supported by the UK Government, the investment will help secure jobs at the Oxford plant and Swindon body-pressing facilities bringing the total amount of investment to £3 billion since 2000.

Celebrating its 110th anniversary this year, the Oxford plant has been producing the current MINI Electric since 2019 as well as the MINI 3-door, 5-door and Clubman. From 2024 the plant will start producing the next generation MINI 3-door and MINI 5-door with combustion engines, as well as the new MINI Convertible. The plan in 2026 is to start making the new all-electric MINI Cooper 3-door and the MINI Aceman, before producing all-electric models exclusively from 2030. The investment announced today will impact all areas of the existing production line, with a new area for battery installation among the changes.

MINI’s commitment to sustainability is reinforced by its roof mounted solar farm across an area the size of five football pitches, which reduces the plant’s footprint by approximately 1,500 tonnes of CO2 per year.

In the medium term, the Oxford facility will reach a production capacity of around 200,000 cars per year adding to production taking place in Leipzig, Germany and at the new manufacturing plant in Zhangjiagang, China, where exports will take place in 2024.

As the third biggest vehicle producer in the UK and employing over 3,400 highly skilled workers, the importance of the investment cannot be understated, something that Prime Minister Rishi Sunak spoke about;

“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.”

Words: Mike Booth
Pictures: MINI UK