The Cowley-built has boosted the fortunes of parent firm BMW, latest figures have revealed.

Between July and September the group saw its pre-tax profit slide from £255m to £113m, a drop of almost 55 per cent with sales of BMW-branded cars down by 9.2 per cent to 263,864 and Rolls Royce down more than 60 per cent to 132.

But in the same period 60,104 Minis were sold, a rise of 3.4 per cent.

BMW chairman Norbert Reithofer said: “We are aiming to achieve positive group earnings for the current financial year.”