One of the early victims of Britain’s decision to exit the European Union is the next-generation Mini. An exclusive report by Reuters says that development over at BMW’s British brand has been slowed down to due uncertainty over Britain’s trade relations with the EU.
A BMW spokesman confirmed with Reuters that the current UKL1 platform, first launched in 2014, will be extended “for cost reasons and because of Brexit.”
BMW is closely monitoring the outcome of trade negotiations between Britain and the European Union, and without a finalized deal, has opted not to make large scale investments at their Oxford, U.K. plant. If the resulting tariffs would be higher than 5 percent, the carmaker may shift more production over to its assembly plant in the Netherlands. Currently, VDL Nedcar in Born, Netherlands already produces the BMW X1 and Mini Countryman.
Moreover, BMW is seeing Mini sales suffer as buyer preference moves towards emissions compliant electrified vehicles or SUVs. With that, BMW is seeking to save around USD 13.3 billion in cost savings and efficiency gains by 2022 in order to develop a better-equipped next-generation platform.
Source: Reuters
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