BMW pencils in another record year for 2017

Following a sixth consecutive record-breaking year, BMW Group sales achieved their best-ever start to the year with January figures showing increased deliveries in all world regions.

MINI output tops three million mark

Production of the modern version of the Austin/Morris Mini, designed by Sir Alec Issigonis and launched in 1959, has just topped three million.

Nifco UK announces record sales

Nifco UK, based in Eaglescliffe in Stockton, makes components used in the engines, and car interiors and exteriors.

5 Series reigns supreme – BMW

BMW claims that with over two million vehicles sold, the current 5 Series sets new benchmarks in the premium business segment.

2016: Launch of next MINI Convertible

BMW’s MINI brand will launch the next generation MINI Convertible in March 2016.

BMW to open Mexico plant in 2019

BMW claims it is set to open its new plant in Mexico in 2019 with a planned annual capacity of 150,000.

ABB stakes robot claim in XE facility

Swedish robot maker and systems supplier ABB Robotics of Milton Keynes is the principal supplier of robots to the new Jaguar ‘plant within a plant’ at JaguarLandRover’s (JLR) Solihull facility.

Hyundai eyes BMW's dynamics technology

Both Hyundai and Kia must have done some serious benchmarking exercises of European medium and upper-end passenger cars to be able to determine where the epicentre of ride and handling expertise can be found.

The Prof. who teamed JLR with Tata

Professor Lord Kumar Bhattacharyya, who has created a business out of education and industrial R&D, was the “kingpin” in the deal to persuade Indian carmaker Tata to purchase JaguarLandRover from Ford, according to a magazine just published.

BMW makes three millionth Mini

BMW has celebrated the production of its three millionth Mini car since 2001, and its two millionth international export.

Relaunched in 2001 under the stewardship of the BMW Group, the Mini brand has become one of the most popular in the automotive world.

Prodrive shifts up a gear

Prodrive is relocating to a larger facility in Banbury, UK, less than a mile from its present home. 

Construction of the new building, next to the M40 motorway, begins next month and the company will move during March 2015. 

Mexico: here we come, say BMW, Kia

BMW is to build a new 150,000-a-year vehicle assembly plant in San Luis Potosí, Mexico. The new plant comes online in 2019 and will employ 1,500.

BMW AG board member responsible for production, Harald Kruger, said: "Mexico is an ideal location for the BMW Group and will be another important plant within our production network. This decision underscores our commitment to the NAFTA region”.

Three-cylinder engines for new Mini

The new Mini Hatch is completely new from the ground up, according to BMW. Every component has been back to the drawing board in an effort to optimise function, performance and style.

The car features improvements in technology, engine efficiency and power delivery, driving dynamics, quality and personalisation. It is also quieter than the outgoing model, with improvements to acoustic refinement inside the cabin.

BMW to set up UK design base?

How soon before BMW sets up a London design office?

With Nissan already firmly established for years in its London design centre and its Infiniti brand soon to follow, London has become a centre of excellence in terms of vehicle design.

BMW needs 160 apprentices in UK…

BMW Group requires 160 young people with a passion for the motor industry to take up apprenticeships available through its company and dealership schemes in 2014.

The new recruits will join over 400 existing apprentices currently undergoing training across the company's UK operations.  Some will rise beyond NVQ to degree qualifications.

Within its Mini UK production network, the business is looking for 49 new apprentices to take up places in August as the plants ramp up production of the next model generation. In addition, BMW and Mini dealerships need to recruit around 110 young people across the UK.

Ubisense wins another Smart order

Ubisense plc of Cambridge, UK, a market leader in real time location intelligence solutions, has announced that a ‘large European automotive manufacturer’ has deployed its Smart Factory System to another of its production lines.

Ubisense declines to name the customer but it acknowledges that Aston Martin, BMW, Cummins and Fiat are key amongst its customer base. On the basis of this the new order could be from BMW.

The order, valued at approximately €700,000 is part of a global framework agreement with the manufacturer that covers more than 100 sites and this represents the fourth installation since production acceptance was granted in July this year.

ABB wins prestige Mini robot contract

Swedish robotics vendor ABB has won a contract to supply robots and factory automation equipment to produce the next generation of Mini at the car maker’s UK plant.

The UK plant at Oxford, which is the company’s main stay for the production of the Mini range of cars, is set to install 1,000 robots as part of its next phase of expansion to raise output from 200,000 to 280,000 in the near term.

Mini destined for India

For the first time since the relaunch of Mini in 2001, preparations are under way for the local production of the brand in several growth markets outside Europe. As a result, cars from the British premium brand will be rolling off assembly lines in India for first time later this year.

Local production for the Mini Countryman is now being prepared at the BMW plant in Chennai (formerly Madras). The plant meets the same stringent quality standards applied to all production of BMW Group models.

The new assembly facility has been brought on stream just a year after the start of Mini sales in India and will help to meet the steadily increasing demand for the cars in the Indian market.

Record sales for BMW

BMW Group sold 191, 269 BMW, mini and Rolls-Royce cars in March - more than in any month in its history.

The previous all-time high occurred last March when 185,741 cars were sold – a rise of three per cent.

Retail sales to the end of March also reached a new high. Sales increased 5.3 per cent to 448,200, compared with 425,543 units previously.

BMW scores best-ever February

 With 133,630 BMW, Mini and Rolls-Royce brand passenger cars delivered worldwide compared with 127,638 in the previous year’s period, the BMW Group achieved its best-ever February sales result.

A record number of 256,929 (239,802 in the previous year) vehicles have been delivered to customers since the start of the year – an increase of +7.1% compared with the same period last year.

A total of 114,908 BMW brand vehicles were sold worldwide in February, an increase of +7.0% (107,362 in 2011). Year-to-date, sales are +9.2% higher at 222,207 vehicles than for the same period last year (prev. yr. 203,546).