Mini

Mini (stylised all-uppercase as MINI) is a British automotive brand founded in Oxford in 1969, marketed by German multinational automotive company BMW since 2000, and used by them for a range of small cars assembled in the United Kingdom, Austria, Netherlands (until 16 February 2024), China, and Germany. The current Mini range includes the Cooper Hardtop/Hatch/Convertible (three and five-door hatchback), Aceman and Countryman (five-door crossovers). The word Mini has been used in car model names since 1959, and in 1969 it became a marque in its own right when the name "Mini" replaced the separate "Austin Mini" and "Morris Mini" car model names. BMW acquired the brand in 1994 when it bought Rover Group (formerly British Leyland), which owned Mini, among other marques. The original Mini was a line of British small cars manufactured by the British Motor Corporation (BMC), which in 1966 became part of British Motor Holdings. This merged with Leyland Motors in 1968 to form British Leyland. In the 1980s, British Leyland was broken-up and in 1988 Rover Group, including Mini, was acquired by British Aerospace. Mini models included the Morris Mini-Minor and the Austin Seven, the Countryman, Moke, 1275GT and Clubman. Performance versions of these models used the name Cooper, due to a partnership with racing team owner John Cooper. The original Mini continued in production until 2000. Following BMW's acquisition of Rover Group, BMW broke up the company but retained the Mini brand, beginning development of a modern successor to the Mini which was launched in 2001 by BMW and built at the historic former Morris Motors 'Plant Oxford' site in Cowley, Oxfordshire. The Mini Clubman, Coupe and Roadster were also assembled here. The third (F57) generation Mini Convertible and second (F60) generation of the Countryman were assembled at VDL Nedcar in Born, Netherlands. The Mini (F56) 3-door Hatch/Hardtop was assembled at both plants, with the (F55) 5-door being exclusively assembled at Oxford. The Paceman and first generation (R60) Countryman were assembled by Magna Steyr in Austria. The third generation (U25) of the Mini Countryman is produced in Germany at BMW's Leipzig plant. From 2024, all combustion engined (F65/F66/F67) Mini Cooper hatch and convertible production will be centred at Oxford. A total of 301,526 Mini vehicles by BMW were sold worldwide in 2012. Mini vehicles have been active in rallying and the Mini Cooper S won the Monte Carlo Rally on three occasions, in 1964, 1965 and 1967. Mini participated in the World Rally Championship in 2011 and 2012 through the Prodrive WRC Team.

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