The Cowley-built Mini has passed another sales milestone with its best year since its launch in 2001.

A total of 222,875 cars were sold worldwide in 2007, an increase of 18.5 per cent on the previous year, with 47,661 of those sold in the UK, up 25 per cent.

The success mirrors that of parent company BMW which sold a total of more than 1.5 million cars globally, a rise of 9.2 per cent.

Combined, the BMW and Mini brands accounted for seven per cent of the total UK market in 2007 (BMW five per cent and Mini two per cent).

Jim O'Donnell, managing director of BMW (UK), said: "Although it has been a competitive year, BMW and Mini have yet again achieved record sales."

The new record reflects a successful first full sales year for the second-generation Cooper and Cooper S models which were joined by the Mini One and Cooper D models in April.

The Cooper is again the most popular model with 17,173 sales, 20 per cent higher than last year.