MINI'S Oxford factory will remain the heart of the manufacturer's production effort and the UK will continue to be home to the brand with the announcement that at least five new models will be built there.

Electric vehicles are expected to make up half of total global MINI sales by 2027, according to the company, which has revealed its future strategy.

In 2025, it said the last new MINI powered by a combustion engine will be launched and complete electrification of the model range will take place by the early 2030s.

However, from 2023, MINI will present the first model in a new generation of cars powered by an all-electric drivetrain. This future core portfolio of electric vehicles will include the three-door Hatch, a new crossover in the small car segment and the next generation Countryman in the compact segment.

MINI is also developing concepts for John Cooper Works models with an electrified drivetrain. Electrified models now make up more than 15 per cent of global sales.

The small-car models and next generation Countryman will also be available with conventional combustion engines.

A new vehicle concept is also being developed alongside the successor to the current Countryman in a bid to appeal to customers who want more space and comfort.

Production of the next generation Countryman will start in 2023 at the BMW Group Plant Leipzig - making it the first MINI to be made in Germany.

However, in a huge boost for post-Brexit Britain, all other models, including the MINI Convertible due to launch in 2025, will be produced at the MINI factory in Oxford.

In order to increase sales in China, the world's largest automotive market, MINI will soon move from an import brand to a local manufacturer. From 2023 onwards, the new models of the small-car segment developed for e-mobility will be produced in China at a newly-built factory in the east of the country.

MINI will use the cars produced there to meet planned increased demand in China and other global markets.

Bernd Korber, head of MINI, said: "MINI was always the answer to very special challenges for individual mobility. And the willingness to rethink the status quo define the brand to the present day. Alongside electromobility, the development of new target groups and sales markets is a key factor for the future of MINI."