BMW plans to end all UK production of its award-winning electric Mini and move it to China. This will severely undermine any hopes that Britain can be a global center for zero-emission vehicle manufacturing.
BMW produces 40,000 mini-electric cars per year in its Cowley factory near Oxford.
An article published Saturday by the Times confirmed that BMW Oxford will cease production of electric cars next year in line with plans to overhaul the carmaker’s lineup starting in 2024.
This is yet another blow to the UK’s ambitions to be a global leader in electric car manufacturing. It follows Honda’s 2016 decision to leave Britain.
BMW and Great Wall Motor have teamed up to produce their hatchbacks and small SUVs in East China. The next generation zero emission Mini Aceman will also be manufactured there.
BMW confirmed that a new electric version of the biggest Mini model, Countryman, would be produced at its Leipzig plant.
This announcement comes after confirmation last week by Miniboss Stefanie Wurst that a convertible model would join the all-new Mini Cooper range. It is due to launch in 2024. In 2025, production will begin in the UK at Mini Oxford.
For export to the Middle East and the USA, petrol Mini Coopers will soon be made in Oxford in three-, five-, and convertible versions. BMW confirmed that Minis with internal combustion engines will continue to be produced until 2030.
BMW’s decision follows reports that Britain’s largest planned battery factory, Britishvolt, in the north-east, would fail to receive a PS200m rescue package.
Boris Johnson, the then prime minister, had promised that a “PS1bn” electric car revolution would be funded in the UK, promising to do so by “creating hundreds and thousands of jobs” only a year ago. His predecessor, Theresa May (then prime minister), hoped that Britain would be a “world leader” in electric car manufacturing. She made it one of her short-lived industrial strategies.
Kwasi Kwarteng was sacked on Friday as chancellor and was replaced by Jeremy Hunt. He stated last year, when he was business secretary, that the electrified automobile industry would be “front-and-centre of Britain building back better.”
These commitments, along with the seven-year model cycles used by automotive companies, indicate that the Oxford plant won’t assemble new electric vehicles for the next ten years.
Rumours have swirled that BMW might sell Cowley’s historic factory to Great Wall. Great Wall has not been shy about claiming that it wants to buy the plant from BMW.
Wurst refuted that assertion, saying: “Oxford is always the home of Mini.” She stated that the decision to stop the mini-electric assembly in the UK was not due to post-Brexit supply restrictions and cross-border friction with the EU or a lack of a nearby gigafactory. Rather, the Cowley plant was operating inefficiently because it had to produce both electric and petrol cars at the same time.
