BMW to build new Mini car models in Britain

German car maker BMW said on Thursday it planned to build a new models of its Mini brand in Britain, in a further boost to the country's auto manufacturing industry. BMW will invest £500 million (562 million euros, $822 million) in the project and safeguard 5,000 jobs. The announcement comes one day after Japanese car giant Nissan said it planned to build the next Qashqai crossover car model in Britain. "The BMW Group has announced today an additional £500 million investment in its UK production network over the next three years and confirmed that the UK will be a production location for its next generation Mini models," the German giant said in a statement. The announcement was made by BMW Group chairman Norbert Reithofer in a meeting with British Prime Minister David Cameron in London on Thursday. Cameron was meanwhile preparing to meet the board of directors of the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA) in the British capital later in the day. Cameron said the investments by BMW and Nissan were significant boosts to the country's manufacturing industry, while also helping to rebalance an economy heavily dependent on service industries such as banking. "The production and export of iconic British cars like the Mini is making a real contribution to the rebalancing of the economy that this government is determined to achieve," the prime minister said in a statement. "It's a tremendous vote of confidence in the skills and capabilities of the company's British workforce and in the future of UK manufacturing. "The Mini plant in Oxford has been one of our great manufacturing success stories, they should be hugely proud of their achievements. They have shown once again that the UK is a major player in the global automotive industry," Cameron added. The new Mini coupe will launch this year and the Mini Roadster in 2012. Both are to be produced in the university city of Oxford.