BMW's Brexit U-turn: German car firm to build first all-electric Mini in BRITAIN
BMW has announced it will build the fully electric version of the Mini in the UK.
The news comes despite the company saying that it would make the vehicle overseas because of Britain’s departure from the EU.
The electric motors and batteries for the car will be made at BMW plants in Germany, at Dingolfing and Landshut, and transported to the UK.
The government has been lobbying BMW for months after the firm said Brexit was “not helpful when it comes to making long-term business decisions”.
Greg Clark, the business secretary, travelled to Munich twice as part of the negotiating team that led to BMW’s latest decision.
Tariff barriers would mean higher costs and higher prices
It is a complete U-turn by the company which was one of the most vocal Remaining firms.
The company wrote to all its employees stating: “More than half of Minis built and virtually all the engines and components made in the UK are exported to the EU, with over 150,000 new cars and many hundreds of thousands of parts imported from Europe each year.
"Tariff barriers would mean higher costs and higher prices and we cannot assume that the UK would be granted free trade with Europe from outside the EU.”