BMW, the German automaker, is set to invest up to GBP600m in its British Mini plant located in Cowley near Oxford to prepare for the production of electric models, according to a report by the BBC. The investment is aimed at transforming the plant to meet the growing demand for eco-friendly vehicles in the UK and around the world.
The British government has pledged its support to BMW by offering GBP75m to assist the automaker in its efforts to shift towards electric vehicle production. The Cowley plant already started producing the first generation of electric Mini in 2019.
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Mini, owned by BMW, has announced that in 2022 most of its electric cars will be produced in China through a joint venture with Great Wall Motor. However, the Countryman model will continue to be built in Leipzig, Germany. BMW has detailed the progress of the plant’s readiness to build the redesigned model, and previous generations of the model were built by contract assemblers in Austria and the Netherlands.
BMW last year suggested that producing both electric and conventionally fuelled cars in the same factory was inefficient. Nevertheless, the automaker has reiterated that the Cowley plant will remain the “home of the Mini,” and there will be no job losses despite the shift towards electric vehicle production.
As part of the UK’s commitment to reducing carbon emissions, sales of new petrol and diesel-powered cars will end in 2030. Therefore, the Cowley plant will ultimately have to switch back to producing electric cars to continue operating. BMW has already announced that all Minis will be electric by 2030.
BMW has declined to comment on its future production plans, but the company confirmed that it maintains a “continuous and productive dialogue with the UK government.”
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The GBP75m being offered to BMW comes from the government’s Automotive Transformation Fund, which aims to support the development and production of low-emission vehicles in the UK. BMW’s investment in the Cowley plant will help to create more job opportunities and stimulate economic growth in the region.
