BMW to move production of electric Minis from UK to China
BMW is to axe all UK production of the award-winning electric Mini and switch it to China, dealing a major blow to hopes that Britain could be a global hub for zero-emission vehicle manufacture.
BMW makes 40,000 electric Minis a year at its Cowley factory on the outskirts of Oxford. Production will end next year as part of plans to reshape the carmaker’s line-up from 2024.
It is another hit to the UK’s pretensions to become a leader in global electric car manufacturing, following
Honda’s decision to quit Britain not long after the decision to leave the European Union in 2016. The Japanese carmaker decided to end plans to make electric cars for the European market at its factory in Swindon, switched production back to Japan and shut the plant with the loss of more than 3,000 jobs.