BMW considers Mini production

BMW will decide by the end of September whether to build its new electric Mini car in Britain, according to Reuters.

Mini makes around 70% of its approximately 360,000 compact cars at its Oxford plant in southern England but the car industry is concerned about the effects of Brexit.

BMW is now deciding between its English site, a plant in the Netherlands where it has built more of its conventional line-up in recent years, and its Germany plants at Leipzig and Regensburg.

The electric Mini investment is likely to be worth tens of millions of pounds.

Ian Robertson, BMW board director, said, ‘One of the elements is what is the likelihood of a tax regime and if there’s a tax regime, how would it apply. If you made the motor in a German plant and you then assembled the car in a British plant, and you took the cars back to the German market, then the duty that you would pay would be reclaimed.’

The automaker is also looking into where the uptake of greener models is strongest and where the best supply chains are, he said. Britain could approve its first major electric battery hub in the next few weeks after officials in central England submitted proposals to ministers in May.