MILLIONTH MINI ROLLS OFF THE ASSEMBLY LINE
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Gary Evans,
Monday, April 09 2007
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Oxford, England-- Six years after production began on the new MINIs, the one millionth has rolled off the line at its plant in Oxford. Reaching this milestone for BMWs version of the classic British compact is an indication that in the era of mega SUVs the world’s consumers will still buy a small but stylish car. To meet rising demand the company has even had to increase factory capacity. All indications are that MINI is heading for new production and sales records.
Like all MINIs, the one-millionth car was produced to customer order. In this case, it was BMW Group's heritage division, Mobile Tradition. The designers of the sporty MINI Cooper S were inspired by classic Mini features, but in spite of its numerous special options the one millionth MINI was produced in the regular series production process as a way to highlight the plant's production flexibility.
When the plant began operation in 2001 some 2,400 employees worked single shifts to build a maximum of 300 cars a day. Today the factory is humming non-stop. More than 4,700 people are deployed over various shifts day and night, 7 days a week to produce as many as 700 MINIs per day. This has boosted maximum production capacity for the plant from 100,000 to over 200,000 units per year, and plans are to reach 240,000 cars a year.
BMW's MINI is the successor to the British Motor Corporation’s famed Mini first released in 1959. The two car lines share similar design cues and a name but the BMW version is spelled with all capital letters. The venerable Mini, designed by Sir Alec Issigonis, was produced until 2000 when the rights were sold to BMW. The original Mini produced about 5.4 million sales out of its British factories in its 41 years of production. The new MINI is well on its way to breaking this record.
The company redesigned and repositioned the well-known and well-liked automotive icon as an upscale premium small car with a wide range of factory customization options.
Although some purists balked at the new MINI, sales and production figures, along with the millionth car rolling out the factory doors, have vindicated BMWs approach.
Click here for a virtual tour of the MINI plant in Oxford, England.
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