Who Makes MINI Cooper and Where Are MINI Coopers Made?
MINI is known for making fun cars with a ton of personality, but here’s a question we hear a lot. Is MINI a British company or a German one?
You may be inclined to say the automaker is British, especially since you’ve probably seen a Mini with a Union Jack flag on its roof before or remember Mr. Bean driving one, but today the automaker is owned by German brand BMW.
SEE ALSO: 2019 MINI Cooper S Convertible Review
In this post, we’ll provide a brief backgrounder on the MINI brand, how it fell into BMW’s possession and where it builds its cars today. If you’ve ever wondered how the familiar bug-eyed hatch got to where it is today, you’ve found the right post.
Scroll below to learn more about the MINI brand.
Who Makes MINI Cooper?
MINI has been owned by BMW Group since 2000, but it started out life as a British brand.
MINI was originally a model name, being used on the Austin Mini and Morris Mini, which were essentially the same car, but were sold under different brands owned by British Leyland. In 1969, Mini became its own brand, with the Austin and Morris models becoming amalgamated under a single entity.
SEE ALSO: First Electric MINI Will Be a Hot Hatch With Nearly 200 HP
MINI production continued for a long while, with BL, now called Rover Group, even introducing an evolved version of the aging hatch in 1996, production of which lasted until 2000. Meanwhile BMW, which had purchased the brand from Rover Group in 1996, had set to work on a next-generation model, which was introduced for the 2001 model year.
BMW Group still owns the MINI brand today and has expanded its model range to include several models apart from the standard two-door hatchback, including a convertible, a five-door, the Countryman crossover, and the Clubman wagon. MINI research and development happen at BMW headquarters in Munich, Germany.
Where is MINI Made?
Despite the German ties, MINI’s largest plant is still based in England, although this isn’t where all of its vehicles are made. MINI only manufacturers in two locations to serve its global market.
Plant Oxford – Cowley, Oxford, England
- MINI 3-Door
- MINI 5-Door
- MINI Convertible
- MINI Clubman
VDL Nedcar (contract plant) – Born, Netherlands
- MINI 3-Door
- MINI 5-Door
- MINI Convertible
- MINI Countryman
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Sam McEachern holds a diploma in journalism from St. Clair College in Windsor, Ontario, and has been covering the automotive industry for over 5 years. He conducts reviews and writes AutoGuide's news content. He's a die-hard motorsports fan with a passion for performance cars of all sorts.
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I am interested in Mini Clubman. Please send lit erasure.
Mini panels for the Cowley plant are made in Swindon (Wiltshire), so it's not quite correct to say that Cowley (Oxfordshire) is the only UK plant. The Swindon plant for manufacturing panels is pretty big too.