An all-new vehicle platform, a range of new technologies and a £750 million investment across BMW Group's UK manufacturing facilities, including at Swindon, herald the launch of the new 2014 MINI.

Substantial upgrades to Plant Oxford, where MINIs are assembled, and to Plant Swindon, where most of the MINI's body pressings and sub-assemblies are manufactured, mark the start of an exciting new phase in the MINI's development. The Hams Hall engine plant in Birmingham is also being re-equipped.

This latest MINI also debuts a vital and highly flexible new platform family within the BMW Group. A new approach to platform design increases the flexibility of the body manufacturing process, allowing more derivatives of greater conceptual variation to be produced more efficiently, an essential element of the MINI's build-to-order appeal.

Further investment highlights include a new 1000-robot bodyshop at Plant Oxford and the debut of various new body-in-white technologies at Plant Swindon.

These new engines, the new platform and a completely refreshed design have produced a completely new MINI.

Harald Krüger, member of the BMW Group Board of Management, said: "In our Oxford plant's centenary year, we are continuing the MINI brand success story and today starting production of the new model generation.

"Our total investment of £750 million in our British production locations of Oxford, Swindon and Hams Hall between 2012 and 2015 underscores the importance of the MINI production triangle within our global production network.

"The UK is the heart of MINI production - thanks to the experience, competence and strong commitment of all our employees."

Plant Oxford, which celebrates 100 years of car-making in 2013, remains at the heart of the MINI manufacturing network, and receives the lion's share of the £750 million investment.

Plant Swindon has also benefitted from investment that sees it debuting a trio of new body manufacturing technologies. It has also received facility improvements that will increase its productivity and help maintain its excellent showing among independent reviews of automotive manufacturing efficiency.

An army of no less than 1000 new robots will assemble the bodies of the new MINI in a brand new, purpose-built bodyshop at Plant Oxford.

The factory's body-in-white facilities now extend to 100,000m2. This impressive new body assembly facility accounts for a significant portion of the £750 million that BMW has invested in the third-generation new MINI, its robots not only ensuring that bodies are consistently assembled to an exceptional level of precision, but can also cater for the wide choice of models for which MINI has become famous.