MINIs are not a very common sight on the roads, which begs the question when did they make 3 million cars and where are they all? But that’s what they’ve done, and they recently celebrated the production of the 3 millionth MINI at the famous Oxford plant.
Mind you, that is three million cars since the new BMW-owned MINI started operating at Oxford in 2001. Back then the plant stamped out 300 cars a day, but the steady growth of the car maker’s business means that figure now stands at a fairly remarkable 1,000 a day. The company now has strong presence in 110 markets around the world with annual sales figures standing way above 340,000 units (2015 record).
The production of the three millionth MINI, a John Cooper Works Clubman ALL4, at Oxford is a special occasion both for the brand and for the legendary site which has in business since 1913. Granted, these days Oxford is propped by German fund (more than 1.75 billion GBP invested by BMW) which has given it a new paint shop, a high-technology body building facility, a new final assembly area, a new logistics centre, Quality and Engineering Centre and the MINIcademy, where the plant’s apprentices are trained, but it remains something the Brits can be proud of.
