BMW is to invest another £500m in its UK operation over the next three years and has confirmed it will build the next generation of its Mini sub-brand’s models in Britain.

The carmaker said the decision would safeguard more than 5,000 jobs at its plant in Oxford. BMW’s chief executive Norbert Reithofer said the decision “underlines that the UK will remain at the heart of Mini production”.

British prime minister David Cameron welcomed the investment and said, “the production and export of iconic British cars like Mini is making a real contribution to the rebalancing of the economy that this country is trying to achieve”. – Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2011