The first generation of Mini electric model was launched at BMW's Oxford plant in 2019. AFP
The first generation of Mini electric model was launched at BMW's Oxford plant in 2019. AFP
The first generation of Mini electric model was launched at BMW's Oxford plant in 2019. AFP
The first generation of Mini electric model was launched at BMW's Oxford plant in 2019. AFP

BMW makes multi-million pound Mini investment in UK


Matthew Davies
  • English
  • Arabic

BMW will build the next generation of electric Mini cars in the UK, after the German car manufacturer stuck a deal with the British government.

A multi-million pound investment will modify BMW's existing plant in Oxford and secure 4,000 jobs in the process, ministers said.

While the British government has declined to set out the exact figure of taxpayer support that BMW was offered to make the move, the previously reported figure of £75 million was not disputed.

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said his government was securing jobs and growing the economy “by backing our car manufacturing industry”.

“BMW's investment is another shining example of how the UK is the best place to build cars of the future,” he said.

BMW builds Minis in Cowley, near Oxford, Britain. All Mini's will be electric by 2030. Reuters
BMW builds Minis in Cowley, near Oxford, Britain. All Mini's will be electric by 2030. Reuters

'Global leader in electric vehicles'

The first generation of the Mini's electric model was launched at BMW's Oxford plant in 2019. However, the company said last year that it planned to build most of its electric cars in China.

UK Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said BMW's investment was a “huge vote of confidence in this country as a global leader in electric vehicles”.

The government has been driving an initiative to attract car makers to invest and build their electric models in the UK.

Two months ago, India's Tata said it would invest £4 billion in an electric vehicle battery plant in Britain to supply its Jaguar Land Rover factories.

Meanwhile, last week electric vehicle production began at the Stellantis's factory in Ellesmere Port, following a £100 million investment.

The UK's car industry has been motoring ahead recently, confirmed by figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders that showed Britain's car production was almost a third higher in August, when compared with the same month last year.

The Mini through the years - in pictures

Spider-Man: No Way Home

Director: Jon Watts

Stars: Tom Holland, Zendaya, Jacob Batalon 

Rating:*****

The five pillars of Islam

1. Fasting

2. Prayer

3. Hajj

4. Shahada

5. Zakat 

Manchester United's summer dealings

In

Victor Lindelof (Benfica) £30.7 million

Romelu Lukaku (Everton)  £75 million

Nemanja Matic (Chelsea)  £40 million

 

Out

Zlatan Ibrahimovic Released

Wayne Rooney (Everton) Free transfer

Adnan Januzaj (Real Sociedad) £9.8 million

 

 

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What is a black hole?

1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull

2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight

3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge

4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own

5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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The five pillars of Islam
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Nayanthara: Beyond The Fairy Tale

Starring: Nayanthara, Vignesh Shivan, Radhika Sarathkumar, Nagarjuna Akkineni

Director: Amith Krishnan

Rating: 3.5/5

The years Ramadan fell in May

1987

1954

1921

1888

Libya's Gold

UN Panel of Experts found regime secretly sold a fifth of the country's gold reserves. 

The panel’s 2017 report followed a trail to West Africa where large sums of cash and gold were hidden by Abdullah Al Senussi, Qaddafi’s former intelligence chief, in 2011.

Cases filled with cash that was said to amount to $560m in 100 dollar notes, that was kept by a group of Libyans in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.

A second stash was said to have been held in Accra, Ghana, inside boxes at the local offices of an international human rights organisation based in France.

Types of bank fraud

1) Phishing

Fraudsters send an unsolicited email that appears to be from a financial institution or online retailer. The hoax email requests that you provide sensitive information, often by clicking on to a link leading to a fake website.

2) Smishing

The SMS equivalent of phishing. Fraudsters falsify the telephone number through “text spoofing,” so that it appears to be a genuine text from the bank.

3) Vishing

The telephone equivalent of phishing and smishing. Fraudsters may pose as bank staff, police or government officials. They may persuade the consumer to transfer money or divulge personal information.

4) SIM swap

Fraudsters duplicate the SIM of your mobile number without your knowledge or authorisation, allowing them to conduct financial transactions with your bank.

5) Identity theft

Someone illegally obtains your confidential information, through various ways, such as theft of your wallet, bank and utility bill statements, computer intrusion and social networks.

6) Prize scams

Fraudsters claiming to be authorised representatives from well-known organisations (such as Etisalat, du, Dubai Shopping Festival, Expo2020, Lulu Hypermarket etc) contact victims to tell them they have won a cash prize and request them to share confidential banking details to transfer the prize money.

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%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Enterprise-grade%20security%20and%20privacy%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Unlimited%20higher-speed%20GPT-4%20access%20with%20no%20caps%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Longer%20context%20windows%20for%20processing%20longer%20inputs%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Advanced%20data%20analysis%20capabilities%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Customisation%20options%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Shareable%20chat%20templates%20that%20companies%20can%20use%20to%20collaborate%20and%20build%20common%20workflows%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Analytics%20dashboard%20for%20usage%20insights%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Free%20credits%20to%20use%20OpenAI%20APIs%20to%20extend%20OpenAI%20into%20a%20fully-custom%20solution%20for%20enterprises%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
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Updated: September 11, 2023, 8:31 AM`