Hundreds of Cowley car workers will be travelling to Germany as the factory prepares for the launch of the new Mini.

The workers are going flat out for the next two months to produce 2,600 Rover 75 luxury saloons and 6,600 car bodies ready for the switch to production of the car at Longbridge.

Once production of the Rover 75 finishes at Cowley at the end of July, workers will start a nine-week break while work is carried out to introduce Mini assembly lines.

The managing director of the Cowley factory, Dr Herbert Diess said: "Seven hundred workers will be offered 15 weeks' training with BMW in Germany, starting in September, to prepare for the launch of the new car, which will make its public debut at the Paris Motor Show in Sep- tember."

A further 400 skilled workers from the 2,400-strong workforce will also be temporarily transferred to Longbridge to oversee the introduction of assembly lines for the Rover 75. Dr Diess also told a press briefing at the factory that BMW wanted to "improve the age profile" at Cowley.

Currently the average age of workers is about 45 and BMW intends to bring that down by offering an attractive early retirement package to every worker aged 50 and over.

Dr Diess said they hoped about 350 people would accept the offer, but stressed there would be no compulsory redundancies.

Union deputy convenor Bernard Moss said the package had been agreed with the unions.

He said: "You have to move with the times. Things are changing in the car industry and we recognise we have to move with them."

Dr Diess said the plant will be re-branded as the Mini factory, carrying the Mini logo outside, and workers would be given a choice of three types of workwear.

Work on prototype models of the new Mini is already under way in a secret part of the Cowley plant. BMW spokesman Axel Obermuller said: "We have no plans to have additional models at Oxford in the near future. We might build up a whole family of Mini cars, but that is not going to happen tomorrow."