On Wednesday, the BMW Group celebrated the production of the three millionth engine at it is UK manufacturing facility at Hams Hall, near Birmingham.

The milestone unit was a 1.6 four-cylinder petrol mill that was shipped to the MINI plant at Oxford for a car to be built for the emerging Indian market.

“This is a fantastic milestone for Plant Hams Hall,” said plant director, Nick Spencer. “Our 800-strong workforce is proud to be playing an important role within BMW Group’s global production network, building engines in the UK for cars sold in many countries around world and contributing to the success of the iconic MINI brand.”

The Hams Hall facility has been supplying four cylinder petrol engines to production plants in Germany, Austria and Oxford for over a decade. The engines currently power the BMW X1 crossover, 1 Series and the recently launched new 3-Series sedan as well as all MINI petrol models.

Business Minister, Mark Prisk commented: “BMW’s three millionth engine in a MINI that’s now exported to 100 countries is emblematic of the current success of the UK auto sector. Last year UK automotive exports were up 15 per cent at an all time high of £29.5 billion in cash terms and engine production increased nearly five per cent to 2.5 million units.”

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