BMW GROUP IN THE UK.

The UK has an important role to play within the BMW Group. It is the only place in the world where all three of BMW Group’s brands – BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce Motor Cars – are represented by manufacturing operations.

The growth of BMW Group’s UK operations has been significant.  MINI Plant Oxford, the heart of MINI production, began producing MINIs in 2001 and has now produced over two million. BMW Plant Hams Hall started producing 4-cylinder petrol engines in 2001. Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Limited began manufacturing vehicles at its Goodwood plant in 2003. MINI Plant Swindon has been the main supplier of MINI body panels since 2005.

In addition to our manufacturing sites, BMW Group also has a UK Sales and Marketing subsidiary in Bracknell with a Vehicle Distribution Centre in Thorne, near Doncaster. In 2011, BMW Group UK Ltd. reported sales of 116, 642 BMW and 50,138 MINI vehicles, representing an 8.59 per cent share of the total UK car market.

As BMW Group has grown in the UK, so have our environmental responsibilities. Protecting the environment is an obligation we take very seriously. All our manufacturing plants worldwide are certified to the International Management Standard ISO 14001. To achieve this we have established a series of improvement programmes that we actively develop and monitor.

BMW Group employs around 8,000 people directly in the UK with an additional 11,000 in its 147-strong dealer network representing BMW and MINI brands. The UK is BMW Group’s fourth largest sales market in the world. The company has invested over £1 billion in its UK operations since 2000 and a further £760 million is being invested between 2012 and 2015.

Products: MINI Hatch, MINI Clubman, MINI Convertible, MINI Coupé, MINI Roadster, Clubvan

Employing around 3,700 associates, the plant builds around 900 MINIs per day to individual customer order, five days a week. The site covers over 100 acres and consists of a bodyshop, paintshop and assembly hall. There is also a Quality and Engineering Centre which tests and ensures that vehicle quality meets the highest standards. Since its launch in 2001, over two million MINIs have been built, over 1.6 million of which have been exported to over 100 countries. MINI Plant Oxford is set to benefit from the majority of the company’s £760m 2011-2014 UK manufacturing investment programme as it prepares for production of the next generation of MINI models.

Products: Four-cylinder petrol engines

The first BMW engine factory to be built outside Germany and Austria, production began in 2001 following an initial investment of £400 million. More than 3 million four-cylinder petrol engines have now been produced to power the BMW 1 Series, BMW 3 Series, BMW X1 and all petrol derivatives within the MINI range. Over 800 people are employed at the plant supplying engines to factories across the global BMW Group production network in Germany, Austria and South Africa, in addition to BMW CKD plants in Germany for onward dispatch to Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Egypt, Russia and India. BMW Plant Hams Hall has also been selected as the manufacturing site for the new generation of high-tech, three-cylinder petrol engines, including engines to power the exciting BMW i8 plug-in hybrid sportscar, scheduled to reach market in 2014.

Products: Home of MINI panel production

MINI Plant Swindon employs approximately 900 associates on a site covering 450,000 m². Facilities include 16 press lines and 140 robot cells. The plant has been the main supplier of MINI panels since 2005.

BMW Group UK is the sales, marketing and aftersales subsidiary of BMW AG.  Headquartered in Bracknell, Berkshire, BMW Group UK is responsible for importing BMW vehicles into the UK and supplying them for sale through its independent dealer network. BMW Group UK also has responsibility for all national marketing, advertising and aftersales activities for the BMW and MINI brands. Established in 1980, BMW Group UK currently employs around 500 associates.  

Products: Personal finance and insurance cover

Established in 1996 and based in Hook, Hampshire, BMW Financial Services (UK) Ltd offers a range of options for financing both private and corporate purchases of BMW and MINI vehicles, as well as a range of insurance products designed to cover car, home and travel. Around 300 associates are based at Hook, which is also the main hub for Alphabet – a multi-make fleet management company, serving both national and multinational clients. Part of BMW Group UK for over a decade, Alphabet, has further strengthened its European market position through the acquisition of ING Car Lease, a division of ING Groep N.V. Alphabet increasing the number of company car contracts under management to approximately 540,000 in 16 European countries and consolidating its competitive lead in the European fleet management market. 

The motorcycling division of BMW Group UK based at Bracknell, BMW Motorrad UK has shown significant growth in the UK. BMW continues to dominate the adventuresports and touring sectors; in 2011, combined sales of the BMW R 1200 GS and R 1200 GS Adventure variant made BMW’s class-leading adventure sports machine the UK’s best-selling motorcycle over 125cc. 

BMW Motorrad’s strong network of 36 dealerships across the country continue to offer industry-leading service, resulting in BMW Motorrad being voted ‘Best Motorcycle Brand’ in both the 2010 and 2011 RiDER Power survey. BMW Motorrad also organises and runs worldwide riding tours, rider training from novice to advanced and an off-roadriding school, through its activities program – World of BMW.

Wokefield Park, near Reading is host to the BMW Group Academy UK. This purpose-built training and development facility is responsible for providing all technical and non-technical training to BMW, MINI and Motorrad dealer network across the UK from apprentices to dealer principals. Opened in May 2006, the Academy has been awarded an Ofsted rating of Grade 1 (‘Outstanding’) based on its last three audits.

A new 457,546 sq ft (42,506 sq m) purpose-built warehouse for BMW Group (UK) Ltd. became operational in 2012 at ProLogis Park Pineham in Northampton.  The facility serves as BMW Group’s regional distribution centre delivering parts to BMW, MINI, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars and BMW motorcycle dealers throughout the UK and Ireland. The new facility represents a multi-million pound investment for BMW Group UK that is designed to further develop our industry-leading parts logistics operations.

Thorne near Doncaster is the location for the BMW Group UK Vehicle Distribution Centre. All vehicles imported through BMW Group UK are sent to Thorne for final preparation before being distributed across the dealer network. Around 50 associates are currently based at this site.

Products: Phantom, Phantom Extended Wheelbase, Phantom Coupé, Phantom Drophead Coupé, Ghost, Ghost Extended Wheelbase

The modern home of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars is a purpose-built manufacturing plant situated on the Goodwood Estate in West Susex. Here over 1,000 specialists combine precision technology with traditional craftsmanship in the production of all Rolls-Royce Pahntom and Ghost models, continuing the marque’s heritage of hand-built luxury vehicles.

BMW Group in the UK has produced its first sustainable value report. The report reveals that despite significant increases in production at all four plants, the general trend over the past five years has been a reduction in energy consumed per vehicle produced.

The report, which builds on BMW Group's first UK environmental report issued in 2006, also details the company's achievements in the fields of environmental product development, cleaner manufacturing and the company's positive economic and social impact on the areas in which it operates.

The report considers all of BMW Group's four manufacturing locations in the UK, MINI Plant Oxford (MINI), Plant Goodwood (Rolls-Royce), Plant Hams-Hall (4-cylinder engines) and MINI Plant Swindon (pressings and sub-assemblies). Examples of how the manufacturing facilities have improved their processes to reduce their impact on the environment can be found in the report ranging from the introduction of an innovative new paint technology at MINI Plant Oxford that reduces emissions by ten per cent to the locating of suppliers close to the plants to reduce transport miles.

Corporate Social Responsibility is an area that BMW Group in the UK takes very seriously. Since 2001 BMW Group has established a significant presence in the UK employing around 6000 full time associates in its seven business locations around the UK. Engaging with the communities in which it operates has been fundamental to BMW, and it has successfully made a contribution to society over and above an economic one. Examples include encouraging foreign language skills in schools (Hams Hall), supporting cultural activities such as the Cowley Carnival (MINI Plant Oxford) and the regeneration of Lydiard Park coach house to provide an education centre (MINI Plant Swindon). 

BMW has a long established commitment to supporting education across the UK. Launched in the UK over 17 years ago as part of the company's corporate responsibility commitment, BMW Education Programme provides free, curricular-linked and award-winning educational resources. It is BMW's intention for its programmes to be not only informative and engaging but accessible to everyone.

BMW continues to support numerous charities as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility, an area that BMW Group UK take very seriously. Below are some of the fantastic charities that receive regular support from BMW Group UK.