BMW is likely to raise output of the Mini with the launch of a new model, after sales of the current, modern-style car beat all expectations.
The 500,000th Mini rolled off the production line at BMW’s Oxford factory yesterday, two years ahead of schedule. The milestone was reached amid output levels that dwarf those of the previous, classic model.
Dr Anton Heiss, managing director of the plant, said the German carmaker would consider raising production levels when a new model Mini is launched in the next few years. BMW began production of the current Mini in the summer of 2001, expecting to make 100,000 cars a year. This year it will make more than 180,000.
The Oxford plant cannot exceed its capacity of about 200,000 cars without substantial new investment. But BMW has ruled out building the Mini outside the UK because of the brand’s British heritage.
The first 5.3 million Minis were produced at Rover’s Longbridge factory between 1959 and 2000. The car was popular in the 1960s and 1970s. But sales then dropped as it became something of a car for connoisseurs.
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The owner of the Oxford factory’s 500,000th car is Dan Cowdrey, an automotive paint salesman from the US — the Mini’s biggest market outside the UK.
The Mini is the smallest car on US roads, where larger cars are typically more popular. But Mr Cowdrey, from Los Angeles, said: “I’ve been in love with the Mini marque for many years.”