Despite the announced closure of
its Blackpool factory, the super-fast sports car maker TVR is planning
to maintain a presence in the UK and increase production from around 5-600
units a year to as many as 5,000.
With the lease on its present facilities in Blackpool due to expire in
the next six months, the company has revealed that in order to expand,
production needs to be moved from the scattered series of buildings that
it has so far occupied for the past 30 years.
Although TVR claims that it is still looking to secure a new factory locally
and within the UK, the possibility of outsourcing at least some of the
sub-assembly abroad has been raised and has fuelled dismay amongst unions
and the 260 workers at the current plant, 70 of whom were laid off as
production falls.
| TVR's outlandish looks and brutal
power have won many fans, despite controversy when the UK company
was sold to Russian Nikolai Smolensky in 2004. |
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The recent drop in production at the company from 12 cars a week to 10
has been attributed to seasonal problems across the industry and the fact
that export sales have ceased since January 1. This has been because TVR’s
engines, produced completely in-house, do not conform to the EU’s
Euro IV emissions standards.
However, along with the move from Blackpool and increase in production,
TVR is also planning to address this last problem and an engineering drive
is in progress to ensure that future engine units will fully conform to
standards.
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