THE first turf has been cut on a multi-million pound building project that will house the next generation of Mini production.

Plant managing director Jurgen Hedrich joined forces with Oxford East MP Andrew Smith, Bob Price, leader of Oxford City Council and county council leader Keith Mitchell to start work on the foundations of an extension to the bodyshop.

Dr Hedrich said: “This is an exciting moment for everyone at Plant Oxford, and is not only an important step in preparing our facilities for the future, but it also represents a substantial investment.

“Now the diggers can move in and get to work on the new buildings.”

The city council’s planning committee gave the go-ahead for Plant Oxford’s plans to extend its bodyshop last August.

The new facility will be used to build the next generation of Minis, which are unlikely to come off the drawing board for several years.

Building work on the new facility is expected to take up to three years and will involve the demolition of part of the existing T-Building.Mini parent company BMW has not revealed the total cost of the investment, but it will not create any new jobs on top of the existing 3,700-strong workforce.

Plant spokesman Rebecca Baxter said: “The next generation of cars won’t be able to be built using the same robots as now.

“We can’t use the current facility to start building cars in the future.”

Mr Price said: “The Mini plant is a major employer in the county and we are delighted BMW Group has been able to confirm Oxford will remain as the heart of Mini with this major project that will help to ensure the plant’s long-term future.”

  • Kay Segler, 56, is to take over the management of the Mini brand for parent company BMW.

His role as managing director of subsidiary M GmbH will be taken by Friedrich Nitschke.

Dr Segler, who held the Mini role between 2004-2008, will be based in Munich.