PressClub United Kingdom · Article.
ACCESS ALL AREAS: PRIME TIME LIVE BROADCAST FROM BEHIND THE SCENES AT MINI’S OXFORD PLANT
Wed Oct 14 13:26:00 CEST 2015 Press Release
Presenters James May, Kate Humble and Ant Anstead meet the people and experience the technology behind the production of one of Britain’s best loved cars in Building Cars Live.
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Sarah Heaney
BMW Group
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Author.
Sarah Heaney
BMW Group
Every 20 seconds a brand new car rolls off a production line somewhere in Britain and approximately every fourth car built in the UK is a built-to-order MINI.
On the evenings of Tuesday 20 and Wednesday 21 October at 19.30 BBC2 will broadcast live from behind the scenes at one of the biggest and busiest car factories in the country: the BMW Group MINI plant in Oxford.
Over two nights they’ll reveal the science, the engineering and meet the people that produce almost 1000 MINIs in Oxford every day. The three presenters, James May, Ant Anstead and Kate Humble will follow the building of a MINI from start to finish in a little over 24 hours.
Building Cars Live will also visit other car manufacturers across the UK to explore the evolution of global mass car production and look at Britain’s burgeoning automotive sector.
The programme will take a detailed look at the MINI plant, its 102 year history and the high-tech and innovative manufacturing processes involved in building cars in Oxford and exporting them to over 110 markets around the world. It will examine how a MINI starts life as a roll of steel at the sister-plant in Swindon, then makes its way through the state of the art body shop where it is pieced together with up to 6000 welds, then through the paint process, into assembly and finally through a series of detailed diagnostic tests.
Most importantly the myth that all modern manufacturing is carried out by robots will be dispelled as the programme examines the skills, training and teamwork that puts people at the heart of modern car building. A range of the plant’s 4000 employees will explain their jobs to the presenters demonstrating everything from producing the body, to the paint process, final assembly and the detailed quality testing in the climate chamber and on the test track.
Building Cars Live will also step outside the MINI plant to explore the 56 year history of the iconic MINI brand. It will examine the evolution of global mass production, consumer car buying behaviour and meet MINI designers to see how car design evolves in line with safety, technology and global fashion.
Since the MINI brand was relaunched by the BMW Group in 2001 over three million MINIs have been sold worldwide in over 110 countries. The UK is the biggest MINI market, followed by the USA, Germany, China and France.
Building Cars Live will broadcast on BBC2 on Tuesday 20 October and Wednesday 21 October at 7.30pm-9.00pm
Ends
The BMW Group
With its three brands BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce, the BMW Group is the world’s leading premium manufacturer of automobiles and motorcycles and also provides premium financial and mobility services. As a global company, the BMW Group operates 30 production and assembly facilities in 14 countries and has a global sales network in more than 140 countries.
In 2014, the BMW Group sold approximately 2.118 million cars and 123,000 motorcycles worldwide. The profit before tax for the financial year 2014 was approximately € 8.71 billion on revenues amounting to € 80.40 billion. As of 31 December 2014, the BMW Group had a workforce of 116,324 employees.
The success of the BMW Group has always been based on long-term thinking and responsible action. The company has therefore established ecological and social sustainability throughout the value chain, comprehensive product responsibility and a clear commitment to conserving resources as an integral part of its strategy.
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For further information please contact:
Sarah Heaney
Head of Communications
BMW Group (UK) Manufacturing
Email: sarah.heaney@bmwgroup.com
Ben Whybrow
Publicist, BBC Factual Television
Mobile: 07718 695384
Email: ben.whybrow@bbc.co.uk
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