The German car giant BMW has announced the creation of a further 700 jobs at its Cowley plant in Oxford

The company is investing another �50m at plant which builds the new Mini.

The plant will build the 100,000th Mini later in May, 13 months after production started.

Hundreds of new jobs are also being created at the car-maker's plants, in Swindon and Birmingham.

'Astounding reaction'

During a visit to the Oxford factory, Dr Norbert Reithofer, BMW board member for production, said: "The Mini is clearly an international success story.

"Customer reaction around the world has been astounding.

"People have been camping outside dealers in the United States for a test drive, and showrooms in Japan had to be closed for a while to cope with the numbers of people wanting to see the car."

More jobs will also be created at other BMW plants:

• Oxford - 700
• Swindon - 300
• Birmingham - 150

Since production started at Oxford the number of jobs at the plant has increased from 2,400 to 4,500.

The plant, which operates on three shifts, seven days a week, is currently working on the Mini Cooper S, which goes on sale in the UK next month.