THE ONE millionth Mini to be made by BMW at its Oxford plant has rolled off the production line.
The landmark vehicle was a pepper white-coloured Mini Cooper S, which will be kept by BMW's heritage division, Mobile Tradition.
In keeping with the celebrations, the car has specially-developed almond green-coloured paint for the roof, and sported a "million" graphic on its bonnet.
The landmark million figure has been reached as new car sales are expected to show record monthly figures for the Mini.
BMW's Mini first went on sale in July 2001, with around 2,400 people building up to 300 cars a day at Oxford.
Now, more than 4,700 staff produce as many as 700 Minis a day, with annual production having risen from 100,000 in the early part of the decade to more than 200,000. BMW has invested £380 million in its Oxford plant.
The company is expected to have sold 7,854 Minis in the UK in March 2007, beating the previous record of 7,687 in March 2006.
Putting this performance into perspective, the old' Mini was first launched in 1959. A total of 5.3 million were sold by the time production ceased in late 2000.
The new record signals the successful launch of the second-generation MINI Cooper and MINI Cooper S in November 2006, and orders are strong for the forthcoming MINI One and MINI Cooper D, which will go on sale on April 14.
This year will also see the launch of the new MINI Clubman. This will be the third model in the increasing MINI range, joining the hatch and convertible.
Since its launch, MINI has defined a new market segment - the premium small car with a worldwide presence and a comprehensive range of customisation options.
From Chile to China, MINI is enjoying growing popularity among customers across 80 markets around the world. Almost 80 per cent of MINIs, which are all built to individual customer orders, are currently produced for export.
With the launch of the second generation MINI towards the end of 2006, the MINI Production Triangle was formed as the UK plants Hams Hall and Swindon became an integral part of MINI production.
Hams Hall, near Birmingham, supplies petrol engines and Swindon supplies pressings and sub-assemblies to Plant Oxford. Together they bring the total number of MINI production associates in the UK up to 6,800.
Another area in which MINI has continued to develop is in the efficient use of natural resources in the car's production.
Since the first full year of production in 2002, Plant Oxford's energy consumption and CO2 emissions have both gone down by 20 per cent, while water consumption has dropped by more than 30 per cent per unit.
In addition, more than 25 different waste materials from production are recycled.
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