FILE PHOTO - Raindrops cover the bonnet of a BMW car in London, Britain, February 23, 2017. REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - BMW BMWG.DE has beefed up its logistics to include air freight options as part of contingency plans to prepare itself for Britain's exit from the European Union, Chief Executive Harald Krueger said on Wednesday.

“We have also taken measures to secure supply routes by air,” Krueger said in response to a question about the carmaker’s contingency plans to help ensure a smooth supply of components while politicians haggle over the terms of Britain’s exit from the European Union.

BMW hopes that Britain will remain part of the common market, but the Munich-based carmaker is making plans to prepare for a possible “hard Brexit”, Krueger said on a conference call to discuss the company’s third-quarter earnings.

BMW currently builds most of its Mini vehicles at a plant in Oxford, southern England, but relies heavily on components imported from BMW’s German plants. Oxford made about 60 percent of the 378,486 Minis produced by BMW Group last year.