MINI's major milestone | Car Talk - Car News Aug 2019

16:23 Monday 12 Aug 2019

The ten millionth car to bear the MINI name has rolled off the assembly line.

The landmark ten millionth MINI model is a special 60 Years Anniversary Edition, so-called as 2019 marks six decades of MINI production.

The classic Alec Issigonis designed MINI entered production at Morris’ Oxford plant in 1959, and it was the same site which was responsible for making the ten millionth model. The original MINI went out of production in late 2000 after more than 40 years and with 5,300,000 units produced, before the brand was reborn under BMW ownership the following year. The MINI is now sold in 110 markets globally, with almost 400,000 produced last year. The 4,500-strong Oxford plant makes three times as many MINIs now as it did when the model was relaunched 18 years ago, and to meet demand a new MINI now rolls off the line on average every 67 seconds.

The MINI is a British icon, and three UK sites play their part in the production process. Engines are built near Birmingham at Hams Hall, Swindon produces the body pressings and sub- assemblies, while the Oxford manufacturing plant hosts body shell production, paint, and final assembly.
While the Convertible and Countryman models are made in the Netherlands, Oxford is the true home of MINI, and eight-out-of-ten three and five-door MINI Hatch and MINI Clubman models made in the UK are destined for export.

The latest production milestone comes in an important year for MINI, as a new era dawns this coming November when the MINI Electric enters production at Oxford.