Oxford's Cowley Plant celebrates a century of car making

The plant has been operating in the small Oxford district of Cowley since 1913

Thursday 28th March marks 100 years since the Cowley Plant in Oxford began producing cars, from MGs and Maestros to Rileys and MINIs.

Over 11 million vehicles have left the plant - which at one point employed 28,000 people - since it opened in the small Oxford district of Cowley in 1913.

Cowley Plant History:

1913 – Plant opens. Owned by William Morris / Morris Motors for nearly 40 years

1952 – Morris merges with rivals Austin to create the British Motor Corporation (BMC)

1959 – Starts producing the infamous MINI

1967 – Company becomes British Motor Holdings following a merger with Jaguar

1968 – Merges with Leyland Truck Company. Becomes British Leyland Motor Corporation

1986 – Becomes the Rover Group

1988 – Sold to British Aerospace

1994 – BMW takes over

2001 – BMW start producing a new version of MINIs at the plant

2013 – Celebrates its centenary. Now known as Plant Oxford, employing 3,700 staff and manufacturing 900 MINIs a day.

We have plenty of new and used MINIs in stock - why not have a look for yourself?

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