On 26 April 2001, the first MINI came off the production line at the steeped-in-tradition manufacturing site in Oxford. A new era began exactly 15 years ago at the Oxford production site. This is the date the first MINI to be produced after the relaunch of the brand came off the production line.
The first model after the relaunch was a MINI Cooper painted in Chili Red with contrasting white paintwork for the roof and the exterior mirror caps.
Today the Oxford plant is one of the most state-of-the art automobile manufacturing sites in the world. The British car manufacturer had 2,400 employee back in 2001 and now the site has more than 4,500.
As you know, the Oxford plant has a great automotive history. The classic Mini was produced in Oxford as the Morris Mini-Minor from its birth year in 1959 to 1968. The decision to manufacture the modern MINI here right from the start was taken in the spring of 2000. The plant was modernized in just 13 months and everything was set for a revolution in the small car segment.
And the new MINI was a great hit. The originally planned production figures were quickly exceeded and three years after, in Oxford was born another MINI. The Convertible one.
In 2006 the generation was changed and in 2007 the first MINI Clubman was on the market. The MINI Coupé followed in 2011 and one year later a second open-top premium small car, the MINI Roadster, was manufactured for the first time in Oxford.
The current line-up of MINI models made in Oxford is very wide. We have the MINI 3 door, the MINI 5 door and the new MINI Clubman.
Source: MINI
