Member Article

BMW announce £250m UK investment

BMW has announced a £250m investment in its UK manufacturing operations, in Oxford, Swindon and Birmingham.

The move is intended to support the company’s international growth strategy for the MINI brand, and follows £500m of investment announced in June.

Business Secretary Vince Cable and Harald Krueger, member of the board of management at BMW Group made the announcement during a visit to the MINI Plant Oxford.

Mr Krueger said: “A year ago we announced a further investment of £500m in our UK production network by 2014 and today we are announcing an additional £250m, taking us through to 2015.

“This brings our total investment in the UK since 2000 to £1.75 billion. Over the last decade, MINI has been a unique global success and the BMW Group has even greater plans for the future development of the brand. Plant Oxford has played a major role in this with cars being exported to over 100 countries around the world.

“This additional investment is great news for all our employees in the UK and shows the BMW Group’s commitment to Britain as a vital manufacturing base for us.

“Our preferred option is to establish a contract manufacturer as a satellite production as close to our UK operations as possible, at the Nedcar plant in The Netherlands, with whom BMW is in discussions.

“Oxford will provide special MINI production expertise for any new operation, particularly in dealing with the high complexity and customer individuality which MINI demands and in operating state-of-the-art, multi-model production lines.

“Just as Munich is the centre of the BMW world, Oxford is and will remain the home and the heart of MINI.”

BMW plan to increase the volume and variety of the MINI model, meaning additional production capabilities are required.

Mr Cable added: “BMW’s ambitious plans for MINI will ensure its UK sites at Oxford, Swindon and Hams Hall remain at the centre of MINI production worldwide.

“The investment of £250 million in addition to the £500 million last year demonstrates BMW’s commitment to the UK and safeguards jobs for the future.”

Dr Tim Bradshaw, Head of Enterprise & Innovation policy, said:“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.

“Coming hot on the heels of other recent announcements, this new investment shows the UK automotive sector is in good shape.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Tom Keighley .