[jeremybingham]

Did anyone else see this and feel a pang of disappointment. APPARENTLY the f56 is going to be made abroad in the same factory they make the country man and paceman.. I was always pleased I could guarantee my r56 was made near Oxford but from Autumn the f56 will not be guaranteed to be a UK car. I like to think I am supporting uk workers when I buy my car even if bmp own the company. Isn't want a Nissan or a honda!

 

[TheScotsman]

After the money spent on the Oxford plant this is surprising, however to keep up with demand it might be necessary. However oxford might just continue to serve the UK while any made abroad would cater for those abroad.

 

[MiniMeParis]

Are you sure that it is going to be built at the Countryman/Paceman factory in Graz, Austria?

I know production is due to start at the former Mitsubishi factory at Born in the Netherlands on July 17.

This has been configured to produce four F56 versions, presumably the 3 door, the 5 door, the convertible and the Clubman.

 

[kenl]

Very disappointing!

 

[MiniMeParis]

As I understand it, Born is just being used to supplement production at Oxford. This is necessary because, once production of the 5 door and revised convertible and clubman are underway, the U.K. plant will not have sufficient capacity. BMW have said that, "Oxford is and will remain the home and the heart of Mini.” I can't imagine they would have invested so much money in the Oxford facilities if they were planning the large scale delocalization of production.

Having said all of which, I still ordered my Mini as early as possible so that I could maximize my chances of having one made in Oxford. It seems to have worked, it is due to be delivered next week.

 

[Darex]

Even worse, unless this speculation is old: production facilities in Mexico (!), but not until 2019.



Sent from AutoGuide.com Free App

 

[GoKart7]

I'm not concerned about this

It's just like every other company including BMW - they are opening up new production facilities around the world to increase production of their cars (logical) and more importantly by doing so it allows the company to use the specific country's tax situation to allow cars to be sold cheaper - therefore in a roundabout way sell the car cheaper and produce more.

For arguments sakes a lot of countries have different tax structures and all brands might work out more expensive to import and run - for these companies to counter that it makes sense to use their financial muscle to just build the car in that specific country or region - of course building infrastructure first.

So their you go - it's nothing to be upset about - it's pretty good that people are buying and by doing so hopefully more jobs etc will be created to manage demand.

Audi and BMW have been doing this for a while - Land Rover have started because they just cannot keep up with the demand so their you go folks.

 

[kenl]

Interesting!

I thought it was illegal (in the EU at least) to be given government incentives that allow cars to be sold cheaper than would normally be the case?

 

[Sunbar]

As said previously its almost completely due to the need to increase production of the MINI in the short term. There is no immediate cost or tax advantage within the EU for a second assembly site.

MINI production rates, particularly with the new 5 door introduction, are expected to increase rapidly. There is over capacity generally within the car industry so it makes sense for BMW to use VDL Nedcar facilities to increase production capacity without exposing themselves to a large capital investment in new plant either in the UK or elsewhere (North America for example would be a logical assembly location).

In the longer term, once market share in the 5-door market has been confirmed, BMW expansion or a new plant could be expected.

 

[TheScotsman]

Production times have already started to increase according to my dealership yesterday. When people are going in to order their shiny new Minis they are now being given an estimated time of 16 weeks due to so much demand. This is the time scale before any delays.

 

[jeremybingham]

Yes I suppose you're right, the more Minis the better, I just want an English one, I know lots of cars are made all over the place but I want to support the uk work force!