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Launch of new UK Minis as BMW boosts investment
03.09.09
German carmaker BMW is set to launch two new models of the Mini built in Britain while at the same time investing almost a billion pounds in car production facilities in its homeland.
Unlike its rivals Porsche and VW, BMW has elected to continue making cars in the countries for which they are best known rather than moving production to lower-cost economies.
The move has been greeted by the government in Berlin as a massive boost for the country's industry a fortnight after German was officially no longer in recession.
Analysts said BMW was keen to retain the Made in Germany' tag that is so important for overseas markets like America and Asia.
In the UK the Mini plant at Cowley in Oxfordshire which employs 3500 people will benefit from the launch of two new models at the Frankfurt motor show later this month.
Norbert Reithofer, BMW chief executive, said the decision would mean new jobs and investment in the factory which is already working near to its capacity of producing 220,000 cars a year.
