BMW ist reportedly negotiating with the British Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) to receive a 75 million pound (about 84.5 million euros) grant in order to continue production of the electric Mini at its plant in Cowley on the outskirts of Oxford.
This comes after British media reported in October, that the German carmaker could stop building the the electric version in the UK all together. It would continue to produce its conventional models there and move its EV production to China through their partnership with Great Wall, while the electric Countryman will be built in Leipzig, Germany.
A report that was contradicted by German media soon after. In November, Frankfurter Allgemeine wrote that BMW would continue building the electric Mini in the UK after all, since production sites in China and Germany were not sufficient on their own.
On top of that, electric and conventional models are currently based on the same platform, making it possible to build both versions at the Cowly plant. But the next generation electric version will sit on its own platform developed by Great Wall. Parallel production at the Cowley plant was long considered inefficient and too costly – but it seems that BMW may have a found a way the problem.
According to Sky News, who first reported on the alleged grant negotiations, the money would come from Whitehall’s Automotive Transformation Fund. Neither BMW nor the BEIS wanted to further comment on the issue. It is therefore unclear when the money would be released or when the Cowley plant would begin using it. Meanwhile, according to Sky News, industry sources say a deal between the government and the carmaker could be finalized within weeks.
BMW currently makes around 40,000 electric Minis a year at its Oxfordshire plant, where the (conventional) Mini has been build since the 1950s.
Keyword: BMW could get financial boost to built electric Mini in the UK