BRITAIN’S car industry is revving back into life after BMW said it will invest more than £600million to upgrade its Mini factory in Oxford to produce electric vehicles.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak yesterday welcomed the move as “another shining example of how the UK is the best place to build cars of the future”.
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said it was a “huge vote of confidence” in Britain.
The plant in Cowley, Oxford, will start manufacturing electric versions of the Mini Cooper and Mini Aceman SUV in 2026, despite earlier threats from the German firm to shift electric car production to China.
Had BMW plugged its electric future solely in China, it would have likely made Mini’s site in Oxford obsolete in just seven years, as the car-maker has pledged to phase out petrol and diesel cars by 2030.