The MINI first takes shape in the body-in-white facility. The body panels and some sub-assemblies come into the body shop just in time and just in sequence from the Swindon Plant. The different body models can be produced in any sequence.
There are more than 500 robots in the bodyshop, meaning that body shell production is more than 95 percent automated.  This allows for more than 4,000 welding points on the bodies to be joined precisely and quickly. In some cases, up to eight robots work on one body simultaneously, on three different levels.

In order to check the accuracy of these robots, laser inspection is carried out by small Perceptron laser cameras, at key points of the build. Every single MINI is checked by Perceptron measuring stations which form part of the production line. Any deviation from the correct alignment and build can therefore be identified and adjusted without interrupting the flow of production.

Facts and Figures

• More than 500 robots apply more than 4,000 spot welds to create one MINI bodyshell.
• There are 340 separate panels in a MINI hatchback bodyshell.
• Accuracy of Perceptron cameras is ± 0.05mm (half the width of a human hair).
• The total number of Perceptron measuring points is 502, carried out in five stations throughout the body-in-white process.
• The approximate core temperature of a spot weld is 1500ºC.