Mini secures £600m investment to revamp Oxford factory for electric-only vehicles by 2030

11 September 2023

BMW plans to invest £600 million in producing two electric models at its UK Mini factory, starting in 2026. The plant aims to be entirely electric by 2030, boosting the automotive industry and preserving 4,000 jobs.

After a period of uncertainty, the BMW Group has confirmed that two new electric MINIs, the MINI Cooper and the new MINI Aceman compact crossover, will be built at Plant Oxford. Production will start in 2026, and by 2030 the factory will produce only all-electric MINIs.

A £600m investment in the MINI factories at Oxford and Swindon, supported by the UK Government, will enable this to happen, bringing BMW Group investment at Oxford, Swindon and Hams Hall to £3 billion since 2000.

The Oxford plant celebrated its 110th anniversary this year and has been producing the current MINI Electric since 2019, where it is fully integrated into the production line with the ICE models.

MINI Plant Oxford currently produces the MINI 3-door, the MINI 5-door as well as the MINI Clubman and the MINI Electric. From 2024 the plant will start producing the next generation MINI 3-door and MINI 5-door with combustion engines, as well as the new MINI Convertible, before they’re joined by the new all-electric vehicles in 2026 – the MINI Cooper 3-door and the MINI Aceman.

The factory will reach a production capacity of around 200,000 cars per year in the medium term, with ICE and battery electric vehicles (BEVs) initially being built on the same production line. From 2030, the Oxford Plant will produce all-electric MINI models exclusively.

What hasn’t been confirmed is where the batteries for the new MINIs built at Oxford will come from. ‘Rules of Origin’ Brexit trade rules mean that from next year cars with batteries made outside either the UK or the EU will face steep tariffs when shipped across the Channel – potentially resulting in a 10% tariff on trade between the UK and the EU. BMW is one of a number of businesses lobbying the EU and the UK for those measures to be watered down or delayed.

MINI Plant Oxford employs over 3,400 employees and apprentices, who build up to 1,000 MINIs a day - one every 67 seconds. It’s the third biggest vehicle producer in the UK and by the end of this year, the plant will have produced over 13 million cars bearing the badges of 14 different brands. Over 500,000 people have worked at this site over the years.

The Swindon plant was opened in 1955 by Pressed Steel as an overflow from the Oxford site. Around 600 people work on three Blanking and 12 Press lines.

The new MINI Countryman, including an electric model, will be manufactured at the BMW Group plant Leipzig in Germany.

Production of the all-electric MINI Cooper 3-door and Aceman models will also begin in China as part of a joint venture with Great Wall Motor; exports will begin in early 2024.