In the decades that followed, the emergence of the Morris Oxford Bullnose model in 1913, cars from a wide range of famous British and one Japanese brand, such as MG, Wolseley, Riley, Austin, Austin Healey, Mini, Vanden Plas, Princess, Triumph, Rover, Sterling and Honda, were manufactured (under the Morris marque). The Pressed Steel Company, which also utilized this factory, built bodyshells for Rolls-Royce, Bentley, Jaguar, MG, Standard-Triumph, Ford and Hillman, as well as manufacturing tools for Alfa Romeo. In different phases throughout its history, the factory also manufactured Tiger Moth fighter aircrafts, ambulance vehicles, military trucks, canisters, parts for Horsa gliders, parachutes, etc. The plant has produced an array of famous cars, including the Bullnose Morris, the Morris Minor, the Mini, India’s Hindustan Ambassador, as well as today’s Mini. It was also producing Honda models for a short period in the mid-1980s, as well as some less famous models, including the unfairly neglected Morris Marina, the startling ’70s wedge car that was the Princess, and the Austin Maestro, one of the world’s first cars that had what was then considered cutting-edge technology built in.

There have been eight owners (custodians) of this plant over the past 100 years, beginning with the founder William Morris, who owned the factory both directly and through Morris Motors until 1952, when Morris Motors was merged with the Austin company to form the British Motor Corporation (BMC). Morris himself, by this time known as Lord Nuffield, was chairman of the BMC for six months before retiring. He died in 1963. During the early 1960s, the factory had as many as 28,000 employees that were producing an extraordinary variety of cars.

Yet, the Mini had a dark side – safety. Due to its dimensions, the Mini always got the short end of the stick in crashes, and the front seats didn’t have a mechanism for fixation, so in head-on collisions, the seats launched the passengers like a catapult! In addition, the final treatment was poor, and the Mini was not made for rain because the cooler was located on the very left, so water could easily find its way to the distributor cap and the ignition system. This last characteristic was a serious flaw in the context of the traditionally rainy UK. However, the price, agility, as well as the extraordinary comfort that the Mini offered its passengers, considering its mini dimensions, made all its flaws fade into the background. Encouraged by the Mini’s success, Ford even bought one model, disassembled it and came to the conclusion that the BMC operates with a loss and that the price of 496 pounds is completely unrealistic. On the other hand, the BMC had always claimed otherwise... In 1960, 116,000 Minis had already found highly satisfied owners throughout the UK.

In 1967, the BMC became British Motor Holdings after merging with Jaguar, and the following year that group was merged with the Leyland Truck company, which also included the Triumph and Rover companies, with the goal to form the British Leyland Motor Corporation. With the nationalization that followed in 1974, the group underwent several renamings, until finally becoming the Rover Group in 1986. The owner, Graham Day, was accused of privatizing the company during Margaret Thatcher’s government, which was completed in 1988 with the sale of it to British Aerospace. Together with Land Rover, the Group was sold to the BMW Group in 1994.

BMW invested heavily in Rover, deciding early on that a replacement for the Mini would be a priority. However, difficult manufacturing conditions combined with an unfavorable exchange rate of the pound led BMW to sell Rover and Land Rover in 2000, retaining only the Mini brand and the plants in Oxford, along with the associated pressing plant in Swindon as well as the new Hams Hall engine manufacturing plant that was preparing for the start of production at that time. Today, this factory is flourishing with the manufacture of the Hatchback, Convertible, Clubman, Clubvan, Roadster and Coupé Mini models. The factory is currently also undergoing major investments that include the installation of a 1000 new robots for both the manufacture of new bodyshells and the equipping of the existing facility for the manufacture of a new generation of Mini. This represents the lion’s share of an investment program announced last year worth 900 million, which is also seen through significant upgrading and installation of new facilities at the company’s Hams Hall engine manufacturing plant and the Swindon pressing plant.

Over the course of its existence and operations, the Oxford plant has generated billions of pounds for the nation, as well as considerable wealth for many other countries around the world, providing direct employment for hundreds of thousands of people and tens of thousands more through indirect jobs. The plant has a long history of car export success from the 1930s onwards, with Morris products accounting for nearly 30% of the UK’s total exports since the mid-1930s. During the 1950s, the plant produced its 100,000^th model for the foreign market, the Morris Minor, and in 1962, the BMC had shipped over 320,000 pieces of its annual production of 850,000 vehicles to over 170 countries worldwide. The BMC was the UK’s largest exporter in the early 1960s, just as Morris had been in the 1930s. The Oxford plant has contributed to a surprising number of industrial activities of far-flung countries, by producing tens of thousands of cars for export in CKD (Completely Knocked Down) form with the instructions for assembly in overseas factories. The countries that manufactured the cars in this way are Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Cuba, East Africa, Ghana, the Netherlands, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Iran, Ireland, Italy, New Zealand, Malaysia, Mexico, Nigeria, Spain, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Trinidad, Turkey, Uganda, Uruguay and many others. By 1967, CKD car sets formed 40% of the BMC’s exports to 21 countries around the world. Morris Oxfords, Minors, MGs, Minis, Morris 1100s, and commercial vehicles were among the many models manufactured in these distant factories.

The export record of this factory is equally impressive today, with no less than 1.7 million cars having been exported to over 100 countries since 2001. The factory has also had a great and positive influence beyond car manufacture. William Morris, the founder, who later came to be known as Lord Nuffield, was one of the UK’s most generous philanthropists. He manufactured the first artificial iron lungs and donated them to hospitals, and handed out 11 billion pounds (12.5 billion euros) worth of philanthropic gifts through Nuffield Health, Nuffield Farming Scholarships Trust and Nuffield College branches, which he himself founded. Nuffield Health organization still operates today, as well as the Nuffield College, along with many other philanthropic organizations founded by Lord Nuffield. During World War II, the plant had an important role in the production of military equipment, including Tiger Moth aircrafts. Parachutes, canisters and aircraft subassemblies were manufactured in large quantities. The plant also conducted over 80,000 repairs on damaged Spitfire and Hurricane fighter aircrafts. The plant hired a large number of people recognized in the automobile industry. Alongside William Morris, the founder, there were also Sir Alec Issigonis who designed Morris Minor and Mini, Leonard Lord who later managed the British Motor Corporation, Eric Lord who managed the factory when it reached its production peak of 6,000 cars per week during the 1960s, as well as the plant director Sir George Turnbull, who later on went to work for Hyundai, helping it become the manufacturer of its own designer cars, instead of manufacturing licensed models, as it did in the 1970s. A significant number of people recognized in today’s automobile industry, as well as in the BMW Group, are former employees of this plant, including Herbert Diess, the former Mini Oxford plant director and the current managing board member in charge of BMW AG’s development. Today, the plants in Oxford are the central element of the UK’s vehicle manufacture within the BMW Group which includes the Hams Hall engine manufacturing plant in Birmingham and the Swindon pressing plant, as well as the former part of the Pressed Steel Company. All of these plants secure a bright future for the new generation Mini, which is to be manufactured over the next couple of years, and all thanks to the increase in sales and export.

Taken from www.netauto.rs