Shanghai, March 22 (Gasgoo.com) Manganese Bronze, manufacturer of the iconic London black cab, plans to axe 60 jobs by moving chassis production to China and is set to sell control of the company to Chinese car maker Geely Group, the Birmingham Post reported recently.
The Coventry-based firm already largely manufactures in China and will cease production of TX4 bodies and chassis in the Midlands region later this year. Its Coventry operation, LTI, will now assemble the black cabs after parts are made in Shanghai. Manganese has 48% share in its China venture with Geely, Shanghai LTI, which makes cabs for global markets.
Geely, which owns a 23% stake in Manganese, will take control of the firm through a 70p-per-share placing to fund vehicle assembly, development and distribution. About 14 million pounds ($21.4 mln) will be raised from the share sale.
Manganese saw its UK vehicle sales fall from 1,951 to 1,724 in 2009, and the firm said the UK market continued to be challenging. The company said the lack of availability of finance remained "a major issue", and also revealed international sales of just 212.
Geely, China's largest independent carmaker who expects to close its deal to buy Volvo from Ford for about $2 billion by the first half of this year, is also set to take 51% of Manganese Bronze, the maker of one of Britain's best-known icons.
