BMW executives hailed Oxford’s contribution to Mini and said the city will remain the “home and heart” of the iconic car as the three millionth ‘new’ model built since 2001 rolled off the production line yesterday.

More than two million Minis have been exported from Plant Oxford in Cowley since the Mini brand was relaunched 13 years ago by BMW, and UK exports of the iconic car are now approaching £30bn.

Speaking at the launch of the three-millionth Mini – a five-door Hatch Cooper S with union flag paintwork – BMW board member responsible for production, Harald Kruger, said the city’s connection with BMW will continue into the future.

He said: “Plant Oxford is the home and heart of Mini.

“As we expand our network to meet global demand one thing remains for certain.

“Oxford will remain the international hub and centre of excellence for Mini manufacturing.

“Mini has been inspiring customers around the world for 55 years and our intention is to make Mini ever more successful in the future.”

He said one of the key factors was the contribution from talented young apprentices.

He added: “They are what I would call the future of the company.”

Transport Minister Baroness Kramer, who travelled down a stretch of the production line in the three-millionth car, said Oxford’s contribution was vital.

She said: “Using the exceptional workforce that we are able to deliver here in Oxford, a workforce that we have nourished and nurtured, we have been able to produce the car we have here today.

“I just want to congratulate the quality of British design and engineering.”

Baroness Kramer said the auotmotive industry was at the heart of the recovery of the UK economy.

She added: “New car sales are up more than ten per cent this year – that is 30 months of growth on the trot. That is a record. It is even outstripping the boom years of the 1980s.”

The first classic Mini was produced in Oxford on May 8, 1959, and the plant now employs 4,000 people including 92 apprentices.

Director of Mini UK, Chris Brownridge, said workers at the Oxford plant were central to the car’s success.

He said: “We have got to have highly skilled people for what is a very sophisticated product.

“The product we are selling today is of a higher quality and higher technology content and therefore we have to have a more skilled workforce.

“I would say Oxford is absolutely critical, Oxford is the heart of the Mini brand.

“The Mini brand is a British brand, it is quintessentially British.

“It has a great heritage here in Oxford and long may it continue.”

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