BMW to make $750M U.K. investment in electric Mini output

LONDON -- BMW will invest 600 million pounds ($750 million) at its U.K. plant in Oxford to take its Mini brand all-electric by 2030, a fresh boost for Britain's car industry after years of Brexit-related uncertainty.

Starting in 2026, the automaker will make two electric models at the English plant: the three-door version of the Mini Cooper and the Aceman compact crossover.

BMW will also invest in its U.K. plant in Swindon that makes parts for Mini models.

The company did not say what will happen to its engine plant in Hams Hall in a statement released on Monday.

The Oxford factory will make only electric models as of 2030.

The Cooper and Aceman EVs will also be made in China. Exports of the cars will begin in 2024.

Had BMW opted to keep electric Mini production limited to China, it would have been a serious blow to the U.K., where car production has halved since the 2016 Brexit referendum.

British business minister Kemi Badenoch will visit the plant in Oxford for the announcement of the deal, which the government said boosted total investment in the automotive sector in recent years to more than 6 billion pounds.

"BMW's investment is another shining example of how the UK is the best place to build cars of the future," British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said in a statement.

The automaker said the U.K. government had provided support for the investment but did not provide details.

The small, fast and affordable original Mini went on sale in 1959 and has remained popular under BMW since it revived the brand in 2001, but its future in Britain has been uncertain for years.

Still, the industry remains on edge with both Britain and Europe's automakers calling for a delay in the implementation of post-Brexit "rules of origin," under which 45 percent of the value of an EV being sold in the European Union must come from Britain or the EU from 2024 to avoid tariffs.

The decision comes less than two months after India's Tata said it would invest 4 billion pounds in an EV battery plant in Britain to supply its Jaguar Land Rover factories -- a move seen as vital for the U.K. car industry's continued survival in the electric age.

Earlier this year, U.K. startup Britishvolt filed for Britain’s equivalent of Chapter 11 bankruptcy striking a major blow to the country's hopes of building a home-grown battery industry.

Bloomberg contributed to this report