By Classic Yorkshire correspondent Tony Lofthouse
I’m guessing it’s been a hectic past few days for the press team at BMW Mini.
The ‘good news’ is the German giants are investing a reported £600 million – including a fair slice of government funding – in electric Mini production in Oxford and Swindon. A move that will safeguard thousands of jobs in the area.
Now the bad news. Anyone with a love for this wonderful British name will surely be saddened by news that the manufacture of the manual Mini will end next year.
For Mini Cooper drivers the exciting motion of going through the gears will soon be a thing of the past, bringing to an end 65 years of unique Mini motoring.
Looking ahead, BMW say they will build all-electric Mini Coopers and the crossover model, Mini Aceman over here from 2026, as part of ambitions to take the brand fully electric.
The move won’t stop Mini from its motorsport activities, according to BMW, but a new chapter of racing might look a bit different.
Sadly, flagship motoring gems in manual form are slowly disappearing. Only recently, Volkswagen announced the end of the stick-shift Golf GTI and the rest of the Golf line-up during 2024.
These changes come as figures (from Direct Line) show that whilst manual cars still amount for 70% of UK motors on the road, in 2021 new automatic cars outsold manual ones for the first time.
Rest in peace to another motoring icon.
This is just another example of the reduction in true choice for the motoring consumer. Very few city cars any more, hardly any 3-door hatchbacks, coupes and soft tops, and increasingly fewer manual gearboxes. If you want an automatic SUV you’re spoilt for choice, especilly in a shade of grey.