Photo: original image by autoevolution
The Austrian production of MINIs is on its final years apparently, according to Automotive News that claim that the British manufacturer will be ending its collaboration with Magna Steyr in 2016 moving the production of the Countryman and Paceman to the UK and the Netherlands.
Just last year, MINI announced that their partnership with VDL NedCar in the Netherlands was renewed, production of new models starting this year and even restoring an old MINI to celebrate the event. The move is not seen as a failure by the Austrians though, as they will start making new BMW models instead. At the moment, it’s not clear which ones though.
The Oxford plant, the world’s third-oldest plant, will therefore become even more important for the UK auto industry, probably starting to build well over 100,000 units from 2016 with the addition of Countryman and Paceman models. For the usual customers though, this move won’t make any difference, the same level of build quality being guaranteed.
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