BMW brings Mini production to the UK

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From BBC News:

BMW is to move production of its new Mini petrol engines back to the UK creating hundreds of jobs and returning the car's status to British-made.

Nearly 250,000 updated versions of the car will be made at BMW's high-tech engine facilities at Hams Hall, Coleshill, Warwickshire, this year.

BMW kept the rights to the Mini when it split up MG Rover in 2000. The engines were produced in Brazil.

The model was launched in 2001 and has since gone from strength to strength.

In 2004, almost one-in-six cars sold by the BMW group was a Mini and to date, it has sold more than 800,000 models worldwide. More than 700 people currently work at the multi-million pound plant in north Warwickshire producing petrol engines for all BMWs.

The firm's Cowley plant, on the outskirts of Oxford, is also involved in production of the Mini. Harald Kreugar, managing director of BMW at Hams Hall, confirmed to BBC News the creation of more jobs at the site. "It's a British Mini built at Oxford with an engine from Hams Hall in the future, what else do you want? You'll be driving around a British roundabout with a British engine in a British product and we will definitely have more jobs at Hams Hall."

Richard Lambert, director general of the CBI, toured the Hams Hall plant on Friday and said the UK can still boast a dynamic car industry.

"The UK exported more motor cars last year than it has for many, many years so there is a dynamic motor car industry in this country. Of course, there are problems, but there is also innovation."