AT LAST, some good news concerning the Cowley-built Mini.

After a turbulent few weeks in which BMW, the car manufacturer has shed hundreds of jobs, a new generation of Mini launched yesterday at the Geneva Motor Show.

The John Cooper Works car, which will be sold in limited numbers, was centre stage at the event along with the Cooper and Cooper S versions of the new convertible.

Also making its debut was the Mini One Clubman.

All the new models will go on sale in the UK on March 28 and will be built in Oxford.

Of course, it is too early to say what the order book looks like, but, given the state of car manufacturing across the world, we ought to at least celebrate the fact production at Cowley continues, albeit on a reduced level.

Let us hope this is the shot in the arm that Mini workers desperately need.