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MINI History MINI Cars MINI Concepts Specials MINI Plant in Oxford, UK
The new MINI is being manufactured on one of the world's most modern and advanced production systems at the BMW Group plant at Oxford - the result of a £230 million investment programme at the factory. MINI Stars in "The Italian Job" MINI, the 2003 North American Car of the Year, will join a stellar cast that includes Mark Wahlberg, Edward Norton, Charlize Theron, Jason Statham, Seth Green, Mos Def and Donald Sutherland, in Paramount Pictures’ film, “The Italian Job,” opening nationwide May 30th.
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1998 - 2007 Copyright & |
Plant
Summary
Facts
Assembly
Paint
Shop
Body
Shop
Logistics
BMW Manufacturing : Oxford Plant From Rover 600/800 to Rover 75 to the BMW Mini in less than 3 years The Cowley plant near Oxford has quite a tradition. Producing the Rover 600 and the Rover 800 until 1998, they were the test ground for BMW/Rovers new Rover 75. This car was launched in 1998. When Rover Cars were finally sold to the Phoenix Group, the plant remained in BMW hands.
The Rover 75 installations are being disassembled and transferred to Longbridge, where the Rover 75 will be continued. In Cowley, the new MINI will be launched in Mid 2001.
Over the past eight weeks the Rover 75 manufacturing line was completely dismantled and transported to the Phoenix Consortium's Longbridge, England plant. In turn, equipment for MINI production was shipped from Longbridge to Oxford. This represents the on-time conclusion of the first part of the exceptional logistical challenge of exchanging production facilities. Equipment for the MINI production is on site and the buildings are ready for the installation. During the change-over phase, a nine-week extended summer break was agreed for the Oxford workforce. Employees returning on September 11th, 2000 will find preparations for the production of MINI at Oxford well underway.
Investments at Oxford have exceeded $400 million over the last years to modernize the production facilities. This included the building of a completely new Paint Shop for $115 million, as well as the total refurbishment of Body-in-White and Assembly Areas. Other improvements included the building of an Integrated Logistics Center and a Quality Center for finished cars. For the start-up of MINI production the BMW Group will invest an additional $330 million into machinery, facilities and infrastructure on-site.
Production of the
MINI is set to reach up to 100,000 units per year, with employment running
at that capacity to be around 2,500 people. With further investment
into production facilities, namely in the paint shop area, the site
infrastructure allows a future production increase of up to 200,000
units per year. |
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The structures at plant Oxford will be in accordance with BMW Group's production strategy, allowing the possibility to build other BMW Group products at the plant if so desired. This strategy has been a major factor in the flexibility and extraordinary productivity of BMW Group plants.
(September 13, 2000)
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