BMW Group Oxford Plant Starts Installation of MINI Production Line 
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Mini Cooper

Photo: BMW

The MINI COOPER will debut this September at the Paris International Auto Show and is expected to reach American shores during the first quarter of 2002.  

Over the past eight weeks the Rover 75 manufacturing line was completely dismantled and transported to the Phoenix Consortium's Longbridge, England plant. In turn, equipment for MINI production was shipped from Longbridge to Oxford. This represents the on-time conclusion of the first part of the exceptional logistical challenge of exchanging production facilities. Equipment for the MINI production is on site and the buildings are ready for the installation. During the change-over phase, a nine-week extended summer break was agreed for the Oxford workforce. Employees returning on September 11th, 2000 will find preparations for the production of MINI at Oxford well underway. 

Investments at Oxford have exceeded $400 million over the last years to modernize the production facilities. This included the building of a completely new Paint Shop for $115 million, as well as the total refurbishment of Body-in-White and Assembly Areas. Other improvements included the building of an Integrated Logistics Center and a Quality Center for finished cars. For the start-up of MINI production the BMW Group will invest an additional $330 million into machinery, facilities and infrastructure on-site. 

Production of the MINI is set to reach up to 100,000 units per year, with employment running at that capacity to be around 2,500 people. With further investment into production facilities, namely in the paint shop area, the site infrastructure allows a future production increase of up to 200,000 units per year. 

The structures at plant Oxford will be in accordance with BMW Group's production strategy, allowing the possibility to build other BMW Group products at the plant if so desired. This strategy has been a major factor in the flexibility and extraordinary productivity of BMW Group plants. 

Dr. Herbert Diess, Managing Director Plant Oxford, said: "MINI will be built here at Oxford using the latest technology and to BMW's stringent quality and production standards. Our employees have already shown with the Rover 75 that they are capable of delivering this quality. We have successfully completed the first challenge and I am positive that together with our suppliers and the support of the whole BMW Group we can fulfill the high expectations for the launch of MINI." 

The modernization of the Oxford plant involved key partnerships with British firms as well as European suppliers who provided state-of-the-art facilities for the Body-in White and Paint Shop areas. On April 28th, 2000 Plant Oxford became a 100 per cent subsidiary of BMW (UK) Holdings Ltd. as BMW UK Manufacturing Ltd.  

(September 13, 2000)