AutoBeta(AutoBeta.net)02/05 Report--

German automaker BMW is negotiating with officials from the UK Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy over a grant from the Automotive Transformation Fund to ensure production of BMW MINI pure electric cars at its Oxford plant, British news channel Sky News reported on February 4.

So far, BMW officials have not responded to the above news.

It should be noted that in October 2022, there were media reports that BMW Group planned to transfer the production line of pure electric MINI from Oxford factory in England to China. In response, BMW China made it clear that Oxford factory in England would suspend production of electric vehicles, but would not stop producing MINI models, and said that beam cars that would cooperate with Great Wall Motor would produce pure electric MINI.

MINI head Stefanie Wurst said in an interview with foreign media that the Oxford plant in the UK was not ready for electric vehicle production, and that the next generation of pure electric car MINI Aceman would be produced in China as part of a joint venture between Great Wall Motor and the group. BMW also listed the next generation of MINI models that will be produced at the Oxford plant, including MINI Cooper three-door and five-door models and MINI convertible, but did not mention the production site of the pure electric car MINI Aceman. BMW said: "Information on production plans will be announced in due course in the future."

As for why BMW Group stopped producing MINI electric vehicles at its Oxford plant in the UK, Wu Sizhuo, senior vice president of BMW Group MINI brand, said the reason was that the factory was inefficient and electric vehicles and fuel vehicles were produced on the same production line. Cui Dongshu, secretary-general of the National Passenger Car Market Information Association, also pointed out that the British industrial chain is incomplete and the cost is high, which is not a good place to develop electric vehicles. BMW Group intends to stop producing MINI electric vehicles in Oxford factory and transfer the production line to China from the perspective of cost. In addition, the transformation of German automobile industry to electrification highlights the importance of China's large market. In other words, the core reason for the MINI pure electric car production line to move to China is that the Oxford factory is "not ready for electric vehicles" and the cost is relatively high.

For Britain, MINI is self-evident. MINI was born in August 1959, originally a British car manufacturer, and Oxford factory is the home of MINI brand. After the MINI failed to win the favor of domestic consumers due to its high price, it was acquired by BMW Group and became one of the three independent brands of BMW Group. After BMW started to shine, BMW Group transferred part of its production capacity to Europe and Asia, but considering MINI's "British ancestry", BMW finally determined Oxford Factory as the main production place of MINI models, retaining MINI's largest production capacity. Oxford factory has produced MINI models for more than 60 years, but in terms of electric vehicle production, Oxford factory progress is slow, pure electric MINI launched in 2020, data show, Oxford factory cumulative production of about 200,000 electric vehicles, annual output of only about 40,000 vehicles. By contrast, Tesla's Shanghai plant has an annual capacity of more than 750,000 vehicles, making it Tesla's highest-capacity superplant at present.

BMW redesigned the MINI in 2001 with MINI One, MINI Cooper and MINI Cooper S models, among which MINI Cooper SE was the first electric car of MINI brand, which was born in Oxford factory and exported to global market. In 2018, BMW and Great Wall Motor established a joint venture company Beam Automobile, with a total investment of about RMB 5.1 billion yuan. The construction site is Zhangjiagang City, Jiangsu Province. The piling construction will be carried out in June 2020 and will be completed in 2022. The planned annual production capacity is 160,000 vehicles, becoming BMW's first pure electric vehicle joint venture project in the world.

In 2021, BMW MINI brand launched a new brand strategy to accelerate the progress of launching a comprehensive electric transformation. According to the plan, the last fuel MINI model will be launched in 2025, MINI pure electric vehicles will account for at least 50% of global sales in 2027, and fuel vehicles will be officially discontinued in 2023 to complete pure electrification. On July 27,2022, MINI Concept Aceman, the first pure electric urban crossover concept vehicle of MINI brand, was officially unveiled. The car is positioned as a small SUV, which will fill the market gap between MINI three-door version and MINI COUNTRYMAN after launch.

Back to the above-mentioned BMW and the British government on the car transformation fund grant negotiations, relevant reports said, Some sources revealed that the grant plan as high as 75 million pounds (about 610 million yuan), And has been supported by government officials, But it has not yet been determined when the funds will be released and when the factory will start to use, If the agreement is reached will boost the British auto industry.

British car production fell to its lowest level since 1956 in 2022, its lowest point in 66 years, according to sales data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). British carmakers produced only 775014 cars in 2022, down nearly 10 per cent from 40.5 per cent before the outbreak in 2019, mainly due to the epidemic and supply shortages. In terms of sales, new car registrations in the UK fell 2 per cent year-on-year to 1.61 million in 2022, down about 700,000 from pre-outbreak registrations in 2019, although industry sources say new car sales in the UK could rise 15 per cent year-on-year in 2023 as supply chain problems ease.

In addition, data show that BMW Group delivered 2.4 million vehicles globally in 2022, down 4.8% year-on-year. If the deal negotiated between BMW and the British government is agreed, the money will help BMW produce an all-electric MINI at its Oxford plant.

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