BMW revs up UK Mini output

GERMAN car maker BMW is ploughing £100m into its Oxford-based production plant in a move to increase the production of its popular Mini model.

Over 200 new jobs will be created as part of plans to raise output beyond the 200,000 units it currently produces a year. The majority of the investment will be spent on painting and car body manufacturing facilities.

'These measures will enable us to react even more flexibly to the high worldwide demand for the Mini,' said Norbert Reithofer, board member responsible for production.

Sales of Minis continue to outstrip expectations and the cars are being snapped up as soon as they leave the production line. The marque's success is reflected in second-hand values ? the Mini is top of the car industry table as buyers scour the market for second-hand models.

The Oxford plant is the only factory in the world which manufacturers the petite design classics. The plant made Rover 600s and 800s and was the test ground for the Rover 75 before BMW sold Rover Cars to the Phoenix Consortium in 2000 for a nominal sum of £10.

Production of Minis started in 2001 and 4,500 people work at Plant Oxford, in which BMW has invested £280m to date. Last year the factory, located in the Cowley area of Oxford, produced more than 189,000 cars. The new Mini convertible is selling particularly strongly and there are suggestions of several other new models in the pipeline, including an estate version.

Cowley boasts a long history of car production. William Morris, later Lord Nuffield, built the Morris Oxford there in 1913. He went on to become one of the best-known car makers in Europe thanks to models such as the Morris Minor.

Today's announcement by BMW follows the release of new European motor industry registrations that show BMW outperforming much of the market. European new car registrations fell by 0.8% in January from a year ago, mainly due to a drop in registrations in new EU member states where they fell 12.7%.

Among older member states of the EU, the UK reported an 8.2% fall in registrations year-on-year while France reported a rise of 6.5%. Registration of VW Group models, including Volkswagen and Audi, were 1.4% lower and DaimlerChrysler was 4.7% adrift. BMW, meanwhile, beat the trend, with registrations up 2.1%.

Car industry analysts say that UK sales were lower in January because the industry ran many special New Year promotions early to give December a boost. The growing industry view is that 2005 European new car sales are unlikely to match the levels seen in 2004 and the UK, in particular, is likely to be weaker than many with sales possibly as much as 7% lower than they were last year.