MINI celebrates 100 years of automotive production
At MINI Plant Oxford preparations are afoot for a quite extraordinary anniversary: cars have been produced in Oxford for 100 years now and the history of the plant, like its present, is closely intertwined with the one-off British small car. Where today the MINI is produced, the classic Mini- one of the most important models built in Oxford over the years since 1913-was also born. The classic Mini embellished its British roots with every European character; Oxford’s assembly figures were bolstered by Mini cars pieced together over the decades in European pastures beyond the brand’s native borders. To kick off the celebrations, five Oxford-built MINIs are embarking on a tour that will take them to eight former classic Mini production locations the length and breadth of Europe.
The first classic Mini rolled off the production line in Oxford on 8 May 1959, and another 602,816 were to follow in the years up to 1968. During this time, the Oxford factory also built CKD (Completely Knocked Down) vehicle sets to be assembled in other locations. The tour undertaken by the five current MINI models will bring back to mind the cross-border nature of Mini production as it takes the cars-plus an accompanying fleet of media representatives and the MINI Community – to eight former production locations from 13-27 March. The final destination on the tour will be Oxford – the home of the brand past and present- where 100 years of car production will be celebrated on 28 March.
Today, MINI production is concentrated among far fewer locations. All UK operations are carried out within the MINI production triangle, taking in the press shop in Swindon and the Hams Hall engine factory in Birmingham, as well as the Oxford assembly plant. The BMW Group is set to pump around £500 million into the expansion and modernisation of its production capacities in Great Britain up to 2014, bringing the company’s total investment in its British production plants to more than £1.5 billion since 2000.
MINI is now one the country’s three largest automotive producers. Five models in the current seven-strong MINI family roll off the line in Oxford, but MINI production can still claim a European flavour. The MINI Countryman and MINI Paceman are built by production and development partner Magna Steyr in Graz, Austria, although they too include a number of components marked “Made in Great Britain”-notably engines from Hams Hall.
Related Article: Mini Roadster named 'best open-top' at What Car? Awards
Credits: Oneshift News Team
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