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[Rover.Production.&.Sales.Figures] BMW and British Government reached Agreement on British Aid MUNICH, GERMANY, April 1, 1999- BMW and the British government announced an aid package Wednesday for the carmaker's struggling British unit. Britain and BMW agreed ``in principle on the size and nature'' of government financing that secure production of a new medium-sized car at the Rover Longbridge plant in Birmingham, England, according to a joint statement from BMW and the government. The statement gave no specific figures and said the agreement still needed approval from the board of directors of BMW AG as well as EU authorities. Tony Blair said he was ``delighted'' that people could look forward to BMW making Longbridge a ``world class plant for the next century''. BMW had asked for more than $324 million from the government. Although the government increased its opening offer of $190 million, the final amount is thought to be short of what the German firm wanted. BMW is now expected to press ahead with an ambitious program, costing hundreds of millions of dollars, to build a new range of cars at Longbridge and to modernize the sprawling factory. Pressure increased on Britain to conclude the deal after the Munich-based BMW reported earnings Tuesday that reflected troubles within Rover. The automaker had warned that the longer negotiations dragged on, the greater the likelihood of production being switched to Hungary. Pretax losses in the British unit, which continues to fight against a strong pound and declining sales at home, dragged BMW profits down 28 percent in 1998 to $531 million. BMW has invested $3.57 billion in Rover since buying the carmaker in 1994. The unit's best-selling model has been the Mini. In England, union officials welcomed the news and praised the government for its role in helping the plant, which now employs 9,500. ``The government has delivered its promise of not walking away from Longbridge. After months of damaging speculation, the clouds have been lifted,'' said Ken Jackson, general secretary of the Amalgamated Engineering and Electrical Union. Last December, Rover workers voted to accept a radical restructuring deal to cut 2,500 jobs but keep the huge Longbridge assembly plant open.
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