Gordon Brown, the chancellor, yesterday paid a rare tribute to "the importance of manufacturing" after officially opening BMW's £230m new Mini plant at Cowley, Oxford, writes David Gow .

Mr Brown said: "What we are all seeking to achieve is a modern manufacturing strength which is vital to exports, vital to this region and the UK, and vital to our innovative skills as a mod ern economy succeeding in the new world."

BMW, which hopes to produce 30,000 new Minis this year rising to 100,000 in 2002, said it had taken 1,000 orders on Saturday - the day the car entered UK showrooms, including one in Bradford that was torched by rioters.

The car goes on sale in mainland Europe on September 8 and in the US in the spring of 2002. In the UK, the basic 1.6l car costs £10,600 and the Mini Cooper £11,600. The German car group, which sold a record 822,000 cars last year, plans to raise that total by 9.5% this year to more than 900,000.