20 years ago, the iconic British car brand started a new journey. One that has proven to be quite successful. It was April 26, 2001 when the first MINI under the BMW brand ownership rolled off the production line in Oxford. Since then, MINI has built more than five million premium cars in Great Britain. At the Oxford plant alone, the MINI 3-door, the MINI 5-door and the MINI Clubman as well as the fully-electric MINI Cooper SE are currently being built – all together on the same production line.
Currently, more than 4,500 highly qualified employees work at the MINI plants in Oxford and Swindon, including 130 apprentices. A around 1,000 MINI are built everyday – one every 67 seconds. From 2007 until 2008, the current BMW CEO Oliver Zipse was in charge of the Oxford plant.
In 2019, the MINI plant in Oxford announced its 10,000,000th MINI. Fast forward a year later and production of the MINI Cooper SE begins at the Oxford plant. The purely electric MINI is fully integrated into the production process. By the end of 2020, a total of 17 580 MINI electric vehicles had been sold and delivered to customers around the world.
October 2020 brings more news for the MINI brand. The company announces future product plans and new strategy, focusing on electromobility, introduction of a new crossover model and production of models in China from 2023 onwards. Next, in March 2021 MINI confirms that the brand’s last model with an internal combustion engine will be presented in 2025. From the early 2030s, the brand will drive exclusively electrically.
