Two British princesses launch the GREAT Britain MINI Tour in Berlin. MINI accompanies the biggest promotional campaign run by British industry.

Note: This press release is a 1:1 copy of the original issued by MINI headquarters in Germany. No adaptations have been made to cater for the UK market.

Munich / Berlin. The MINI John Cooper Works model will be an omnipresent eye-catcher as part of a British promotional campaign partnered by MINI Germany. With its unmistakable design, the MINI will make its appearance as an icon of British culture at every stage of the tour through Germany’s 16 federal states. The GREAT campaign was launched on 17 January 2013 in Berlin, with Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie of York – fifth and sixth in line to the British throne – kicking off the tour in style. The initiative to promote Britain as a tourist destination and business base, along with British companies whose products are sold in Germany, got off to a right royal start as the princesses steered the MINI – in Union Jack design – from the Brandenburg Gate to the British Embassy in Wilhelmstraße. Today the royals are visiting the city of Hanover, where they will also attend the reopening of Schloss Herrenhausen.

Sales of the Morris Mini-Minor and the Austin Seven began almost 54 years ago, in September 1959. That was when the classic Mini embarked on what would be its triumphant conquest of the world, taking on legendary status in the process. Fast-forward 41 years, and production figures had exceeded 5.3 million. The classic Mini remains a motoring icon to this day. The MINI was launched in 2001 and continues to be built in Britain, with both British and German technology contributing to the production mix. Since the brand’s relaunch, more than two million units have rolled out of MINI Plant Oxford.

Harald Krueger, Member of the Board of Management of BMW AG, MINI, Motorcycles, Rolls-Royce, Aftersales BMW Group, is a staunch advocate of German-British relations: “The success of the MINI brand is an outstanding example of the fruitful economic ties between Germany and Britain. For that reason we feel very honoured that a MINI John Cooper Works was selected to travel across Germany as part of the GREAT Britain MINI Tour.”

Through this GREAT Britain MINI Tour, the country is promoting the best it has to offer to businesspeople, investors, students and tourists. Among other things, it is flying the flag for the British clothing industry, which is represented by numerous labels in the German retail sector and at major German fashion trade shows, such as Bread & Butter in Berlin. Also at the heart of the GREAT campaign is London’s Tech City, which now embraces 750 companies from the world of technology, digital media and the creative economy, including Google, Facebook and Twitter.