BMW said on June 9 that it will invest $822 million new models of its Mini brand in Britain.
This will safeguard 5,000 jobs.
The announcement comes one day after Nissan said it planned to build the next Qashqai crossover car model in Britain.
The announcement was made by BMW Group chairman Norbert Reithofer in a meeting with British Prime Minister David Cameron in London. Cameron also met the board of directors of the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association and told them that the investments by BMW and Nissan were significant boosts to the country's manufacturing industry, while also helping to rebalance an economy heavily dependent on service industries such as banking.
"It's very much part of our ambition as a government to rebalance our economy," Cameron said.
"We've been too reliant on financial services, too reliant on one part of the country. We want to see more manufacturing, and I'm delighted that so many automotive manufacturers are bringing production and supply chain onshore. We want to do everything we can to encourage that."
The new Mini coupe will launch this year and the Mini Roadster in 2012. Both are to be produced in the university city of Oxford, central England.
Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2011
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