Mini celebrates 60th anniversary, rolls out 10 millionth car

As the Mini brand continues to celebrate its 60th anniversary, it has achieved a new feat as the 10 millionth Mini, produced globally since 1959, rolled off the assembly line.

The landmark car – a Mini 60 Years Anniversary Edition – was built on July 24, 2019, at the Mini Plant in Oxford, UK, and took take pride of place in a special event at Oxford.

To celebrate the brand’s 60th anniversary, Mini says it has been on the hunt for 60 owners of 60 cars, one from each year of production – with 60 personal stories from across the decades.

Mini brought together these cars at Plant Oxford for a special birthday gathering, before heading to the International Mini Meeting in Bristol, an annual festival for Mini fans globally. The cars were led by the 621 AOK – the very first Mini built – with the 10 millionth Mini bringing up the rear.

Launched in 1959 and designed by Alec Issigonis, the classic Mini revolutionised the automotive world and was produced at Oxford until 1968, before moving to Longbridge, near Birmingham, where it continued to be built until October 2000. Between 1959 and 2000, more than 5.3 million classic Minis were built.

Since the brand’s rebirth in 2001 under BMW ownership, sales around the world have gone from strength to strength. Last year, nearly 4,00,000 Minis were sold in 110 countries across the globe.

Three UK plants have a part to play in Mini’s production today – Hams Hall near Birmingham makes engines, Swindon produces the body pressings and sub-assemblies for Mini, and this all comes together at the Oxford manufacturing plant with body shell production, paint and final assembly.

Daily output at Oxford has grown from around 300 cars a day in 2001 to around 1,000 today. The 4,500-strong workforce at Oxford produces one new Mini every 67sec.

Since 2000, over £2 billion (around Rs 17,188 crore) has been invested by the BMW Group in its UK manufacturing sites and, at Oxford, this has included an extension to the plants body shop and new facilities in the paint shop and final assembly areas. In November 2019, the Mini Electric will begin production at Oxford and mark the beginning of a new era for the brand.

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