BMW confirmed that it was delaying the reintroduction of the production of electric vehicles in its mini Oxford factory.
The manufacturer of vehicles said that “multiple uncertainties faced by the automotive industry” had led to the decision to decision to suspend work on the upgrade of 600 million pounds Sterling of its factory in Cowley.
He said that he had decided not to accept a related 60 million pounds of the government of 60 million pounds but had remained in “close dialogue”.
The British automotive industry has been in a long -standing debate with the government on its electric vehicle production objectives.
Motor manufacturers have argued that the number of electric vehicles they should sell in the coming years are too high.
Earlier this year, the government led an accelerated consultation on the changes to this policy, known as the zero emission vehicle mandate (ZEV).
Last November, Stellantis cited the mandate as one of the reasons for which he decided to close his Van factory in Luton.
A Declaration of the BMW mini-owner said: “The Oxford factory is at the heart of the mini-production, manufacturing and export of a range of models, which are sought after in the United Kingdom and in the world .
“However, given the multiple uncertainties faced by the automotive industry, the BMW group is currently examining the time to reintroduce the battery mini-production in Oxford.”
He said that a large part of the investment is progressing, the construction “in progress to make the factory ready for the future”, including a project aimed at building a new “advanced logistics installation”.
The press release added: “We informed the British government of our decision to review the calendar of reintroduction of battery electricity production in Oxford.
“As part of this discussion, we agreed not to take the grant announced previously, but we remain a close dialogue on our future plans.”
In 2023, BMW announced its intention to invest hundreds of millions of pounds to prepare the mini Oxford factory to build a new generation of electric cars.
The production of two new electric mini-models was to start at the factory in 2026.
The Department for Transport (DFT) said that it has recognized the challenges that the automakers were faced and listened to concerns.
He indicated that he was consulted on “the reintegration of the 2030 electric vehicle deadline while protecting jobs”, a decision that declared “supported by a majority of manufacturers who worked on this date and are on the Good way to achieve their ZEV mandate objectives “.
The DFT said it was investing more than 2.3 billion pounds sterling to support industry and consumers to go to electricity.
