BMW is reported to be in talks with the UK government over £75m funding to ensure electric Mini production at the Cowley plant continues.

Sky News reported that the car manufacturer is in negotiations with Whitehall officials to obtain funding from the government’s Automotive Transformation Fund.

The TV channel said its sources claimed a deal might be complete ‘within weeks’ and worth ‘up to £75m’.

Last October, BMW said the production of its hatchback and small SUV electric Minis would move to China. The electric Countryman would start being made in its factory in Leipzig, Germany.

At the time, a spokesman for the firm insisted that its Cowley plant would ‘remain at the heart of Mini production’ and there would be ‘no impact on jobs’.

BMW said workers at Cowley will build the Mini Cooper three-door and five-door Hatch models.

The first electric Mini rolled off the production line at Cowley in 2020, and the then Prince of Wales visited the Oxford plant the following year to take the wheel of an elecric model. The brand will go fully electric by 2030.

Following reports of the latest talks between BMW and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, a government spokesman told Sky News: "The UK is one of the best locations in the world for automotive manufacturing.

"Investment through the Automotive Transformation Fund will develop a high-value end-to-end electrified automotive supply chain in the UK, and this includes unlocking private investment in gigafactories.

"We're also working with industry through the Automotive Council's Skills Working Group to ensure the UK automotive industry can support and develop the skills needed for sustainable success."