BMW (BMWYY) Invests $750M in U.K. Plant to Build Electric Mini
BMW BMWYY announced plans to invest $750 million in a U.K. facility. The money will be utilized to revamp the Oxford plant to produce a fully electric Mini. BMW plans to electrify its Mini brand by 2030. In 2021, the BMW Group marque Mini revealed its intention to discontinue the sale of gas cars entirely by 2030.
The automaker will start manufacturing two electric cars at its Oxford plant from 2026. These two models are the Cooper 3-door and the compact crossover Mini Aceman.
Milan Nedeljkovic, production chief of BMW, said that the company wants to use made-in-Europe batteries in the new models.
The German carmaker said that the production volume will become entirely electric by 2030 and the investments in the Swindon, Hams Hall and Oxford plants will cross $3 billion since 2000. The Oxford facility has been manufacturing electric Mini’s since 2019, but it will turn 110 this year.
Stefanie Wurst, head of Mini, said that the continuous high demand for Mini’s emission-free vehicles reflects the acceptance of electromobility and the company plans to fulfill the demand by leveraging the revamped Oxford facility.
Per Mini, assembly of the Cooper 3-door and Aceman will begin in China and models will be ready for export by early 2024.
Both Britain and Europe’s carmakers are calling for a delay in the implementation of post-Brexit "rules of origin," arguing that tariffs on European and U.K.-made cars would only favor Chinese carmakers. European and U.K. carmakers need more time to build local capacity.
Zacks Rank & Key Picks
BMWYY currently carries a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell).
Some top-ranked players in the auto space include Oshkosh Corporation OSK, Gentex Corporation GNTX and Allison Transmission Holdings, Inc. ALSN, each sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for OSK’s 2023 sales and earnings implies year-over-year growth of 15% and 126.9%, respectively. The EPS estimate for 2023 and 2024 has moved north by 23 cents and 18 cents, respectively, in the past 30 days.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for GNTX’s 2023 sales and earnings indicates year-over-year rises of 17.3% and 29.4%, respectively. The EPS estimate for 2023 and 2024 has moved up by 2 cents and 3 cents, respectively, in the past 30 days.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for ALSN’s 2023 sales and earnings suggests year-over-year increases of 9.4% and 25.3%, respectively. The EPS estimate for 2023 and 2024 has moved up by 7 cents and 8 cents, respectively, in the past 30 days.
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