THE OWNER of Oxford's Mini Plant has confirmed it will restart production in the next few days but that work at the Cowley site will not begin again until mid May 'at the earliest'.

Production officially stopped at the BMW plant on March 23, the same day Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced the country was going into lockdown with all non-essential shops closed and people ordered to stay inside were possible to limit the spread of Covid-19.

The Cowley plant was originally due to be shut for four weeks until April 17, but a statement at the time said the plans would be 'kept under review in light of any new public health guidance that is issued' and it was subsequently extended.

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Government guidance does allow factories to keep running, but all car manufacturers closed their factories in the UK as coronavirus cases grew and there were fears over the safety of workers.

Following the easing of lockdown measures in Germany, there have been tentative steps to reopen plants in Europe by carmakers and now in the UK.

Vauxhall last week unveiled a socially-distanced manufacturing plan in a bid to reopen its plant at Ellesmere Port in the North West in the coming weeks, and Nissan's Sunderland factory has piloted new safety measures this week for around 50 staff though has not restarted production.

Jaguar Land Rover has also announced that manufacturing will resume on May 18 at its Solihull works and at its engine plant in Wolverhampton, both in the West Midlands.

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Luxury car-maker Aston Martin Lagonda, meanwhile, will reopen its South Wales factory on May 5.

A BMW spokesperson last night confirmed that the company would take a 'staggered approach', beginning at the end of this month, to 'ramping up' its production locations again, including in Oxford.

A statement said: "Over the coming weeks, plants worldwide are scheduled to join the component plants and the relaunched facilities in China by resuming series production.

"The plant ramp-ups will be oriented towards the market.

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"The exact dates for the restart are geared towards development in the markets and customer demand.

"There are some first positive tendencies, but uncertainties continue to exist in many markets, for example due to the repeated changes in the opening regulations for retailers."

They added: "For us specifically it means, that Oxford is expected to gradually resume production starting on May 18, 2020 at the earliest."

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A major consideration for car manufacturers will be a reduction in sales due to showrooms being closed in the UK.

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) did clarify on Wednesday, however, that car dealers can deliver during lockdown.

Many dealerships have been promoting buying online but there were calls for guidance over whether deliveries could take place.

A spokesman for the BEIS told Car Dealer Magazine: "We have asked non-essential shops like car dealerships and showrooms in England to close, unless they provide urgent car repairs and other necessary services.

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“They are all able to continue to sell cars remotely and deliver cars, as long as they follow our clear guidance from Public Health England to protect both employees who cannot work from home and their customers.”

Hardware chain B&Q has also now reopened half of its stores, while housebuilders Taylor Wimpey, Vistry and Persimmon have announced work will restart at their sites in the next couple of weeks.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said yesterday he was 'comfortable' with some businesses reopening.

He added: "The things that are restarting are things that we never required to close in the first place, but what the companies have been doing is working out how they can have safe working following the social distancing rules whilst people are at work."