German carmaker BMW will invest £250m in its UK factories over the next three years, in order to boost the production of the Mini at plants in Swindon, Birmingham and Oxford.
The company had already announced a £500m investment in June 2011.
In a statement, Harald Krueger, a board member at BMW, said: “Over the last decade, Mini has become a unique global success and the BMW Group has even greater plans for the future development of the brand.”
The announcement of the extra investment to support the “international growth strategy” for the Mini by introducing new models was welcomed by the over 5,000 people involved in the production of the brand.
BMW described the UK as “a vital manufacturing base”.
The company’s Cowley, Oxford plant is used for assembly, while the facilities in Swindon and at Hams Hall in the West Midlands are used for steel body pressing and engines respectively. All three factories will receive new investment.
In particular, the Swindon plant needs to increase its production capability, which means that BMW may set up a temporary “satellite facility” outside of the UK. Early discussions suggested this might be in The Netherlands, following the decision by Mitsubishi to stop producing the Colt model starting 2013.
Dr Tim Bradshaw, CBI head of enterprise and innovation policy, commented: “This new investment shows the UK automotive sector is in good shape.
“BMW’s decision to invest in its UK plants re-affirms our position as one of Europe’s leading locations for car production and will have benefits for the wider automotive supply chain,” he added.
