While the UK motor manufacturing industry sparks back into life following pandemic lockdown restrictions, the MINI plant in Oxfordshire has moved quickly to reach a significant milestone.
The company launched their MINI Electric in July 2019, and just over one year later the team in Oxford have seen their 11,000 vehicle roll off the production line.
The MINI Electric and MINI Countryman Plug-In Hybrid are proving to be very popular with the UK motoring public, it is the second largest market for the company’s EVs, with a 19 per cent share of the global sales market, selling 3,000 of the MINI Electrics alone.
MINI are planning a 3-door hatchback in 202, which will also be built at the Oxford plant.
Peter Weber, Managing Director, MINI Plant Oxford, said: “Everyone at Plant Oxford is immensely proud that our hard work integrating MINI Electric into the production line is paying off, with the car proving so popular with customers in the UK and around the world. As the home of the brand, it gives us huge satisfaction to build the first fully-electric car in the MINI product line-up here in Oxford, for global export.”
The MINI Electric is one of 13 electrified vehicles currently offered by the BMW Group, though that figure will almost be doubled to 25 by the end of 2023, with the company anticipating EVs to make up 25 per cent of sales by the end of next year.
The original Mini design was first launched in 1959, with an oil crisis and the demand for affordable motoring thought to be the key drivers for the development by Sir Alec Issigonis.