[RalphR56]

The first Mini Five-Door Hatch has rolled off the assembly line at plant Oxford today, marking another phase in the roll-out of a £750 million (€938 million) investment program across BMW Group UK’s production facilities from 2011 to 2015.

Production of the new 5-door, which will go on sale in the autumn, starts shortly after Mini has begun making the all-new Hatch in its three-door version at the Oxford plant. The new model is the second member of the Mini family to be built on a new platform, which will also underpin BMW’s upcoming front-wheel drive models.
Mini says the modular architecture increases the flexibility of the body manufacturing process, allowing more models of greater variation to be produced more efficiently.
“This is an exciting day for us with the first ever 5-door MINI for the plant, which opens up a whole new market segment for the brand. BMW Group has invested in creating state-of-the-art technology and facilities at Oxford and Swindon for the launch of this new generation of MINI, demonstrating the company’s commitment to a long-term future for its UK production sites,” said Frank Bachmann, managing director of Mini Plants Oxford and Swindon. To prepare for the new generation of Mini vehicles, a new bodyshop has been built at Oxford and significant investments have been made in facilities and technologies at Swindon, where the car’s body panels are pressed and a number of sub-assemblies made.


More production photos:
http://www.carscoops.com/2014/07/mini-starts-building-five-door-hatch-at.html

 

[VolcF56]

I'm going to pretend that one of the VO's in the background of that pic is mine! It is due to be built this week....just hope they remember if they're focusing on the 5doors now

 

[JCinSyd]

Yea I remember someone saying in the forum that the five doors were in the process of being built when they went on a factory tour recently. Let's hope it doesn't slow down the F56 orders. I already have to wait til October

 

[MJCW]

Yea I remember someone saying in the forum that the five doors were in the process of being built when they went on a factory tour recently. Let's hope it doesn't slow down the F56 orders. I already have to wait til October

with someone on a forum that went to a factory tour and saw that, i guess it's safe to say they're getting close since im sure if they didn't want him to see them they would have kept him away.

 

[XYZ]

Yea I remember someone saying in the forum that the five doors were in the process of being built when they went on a factory tour recently. Let's hope it doesn't slow down the F56 orders. I already have to wait til October

No, F56 production won't slow down. But it will Lalso be built in the Netherlands while F55 is built in Oxford only.

 

[Mini50s]

I am super excited about the 5-door hatch. Can't wait for it to be launched in Singapore.

 

[jeremybingham]

We saw quite a few 5 doors being made on our factory tour aug14th; the poor door man had to work extra fast as the cars were rolling along the line-an extra door to adjust in the same time-he's a total genius!

 

[treborlav]

Although I'm awaiting the F55's to arrive U.S. dealers later this year, I was wondering If they have begun to arrive at any Euro dealers yet? Any specific timetable over there? May place my order toward Nov-Dec for an early 2015 delivery.....pending all the F56 port delays over here in the U.S. per EPA glitches. Understand lots of F56 customers have been waiting a loooooong time for their cars to arrive! Hope that's all ironed out by the time I order my F55S in Thunder Gray!

 

[scoobyc]

I think UK launch date for customers is the 20something of October, dealer told me.

 

[The Meister]

Our Cooper 5-Door, assembly completed today!
Problem is dealer says it is on 'launch hold', so cannot take delivery until late October, doh!