£300m taxi factory gears up
A £300 MILLION factory which will produce new electric black cabs has opened in Coventry.
The city’s London Taxi Company has opened its factory in Ansty – the first new car plant to open in the UK in more than a decade.
The facility is a major investment by the London Taxi Company’s Chinese owners Geely and will house research, development and manufacturing operations.
It will be the location of production of a new TX5 electric London taxi, with 5,000 vehicles a year set to be produced by 2019.
Production at the Ansty site is expected to start in May or June this year.
The numbers of the London Taxi Company’s TX4, the traditional diesel-powered taxi, will be run down at its Coventry site over the next 12 months, depending on demand.
The factory opening has been hailed as “one of the great comebacks in Britain’s long industrial history” by the trade union Unite.
In 2013, the London Taxi Company went into administration before the Zhejing Geely Holding Group stepped in to rescue the firm. Since then, the workforce has risen from 150 to the current figure of 450 with the expectation 1,000 people will be employed at Ansty by 2020.
Unite regional officer Peter Coulson said: “This a fantastic story of a company that was on its knees in 2013. Now, thanks to the commitment of Geely’s top management and accompanying large-scale investment, the iconic London taxi is set for its continued renaissance.”