Mini plant going all-electric

BMW Group has announced it will invest more than £600 million (NZ$1.3 billion) at its UK factories to make its Mini brand all-electric by 2030.

The carmaker will make two electric models, the Mini Cooper 3-door and the compact crossover Mini Aceman, at its plant in Oxford from 2026. 

By the end of the decade, production at the site will be exclusively electric and many of those cars will be exported to markets around the world.

A chunk of the investment will also be spent on the company’s body-pressing facility in Swindon.

The Mini plant in Oxford will reach a production capacity of around 200,000 cars per year in the medium term, with internal combustion engine and battery electric vehicles initially being built on the same production line. 

The factory celebrated its 110th anniversary this year and has been producing the current Mini Electric since 2019.

Stefanie Wurst, head of the Mini brand, says: “Mini has always been aware of its history – Oxford is and remains the heart of the brand. 

“I am delighted that the two new, fully electric Mini models – the Mini Cooper and Mini Aceman – are also being produced in Oxford, thereby confirming our path to a fully electric future.”

Production of the next generation all-electric Mini Cooper 3-door and Mini Aceman is also due to begin in China. 

A new manufacturing plant in Zhangjiagang, Jiangsu Province, is based on a joint venture with Great Wall Motor and exports will begin in early 2024.