Just fifteen months after the London Taxi Company’s ground breaking ceremony, Rugby MP Mark Pawsey has been to see the progress made at their new factory in Ansty. This is the first new car factory to be built in the UK for almost 15 years.
The £300m factory will be the home of the next model of world famous black cabs. This model will be a range extended electric cab, designed from the ground up to meet the challenges of twenty first century cities.
Due to begin production of the new black cab in 2017, the investment by the London Taxi Company will create 1,000 new jobs in the local area, as well as hundreds of further jobs in the automotive sector across the country thanks to the supply chain for new components. Alongside the next generation of the black cab, Chief Operations Officer Paul Wooley spoke about the potential for the development of new range extended electric vans using the technology designed for the taxi.
Speaking after the visit, Mark commented:
“I was delighted to be able to return to Ansty to see the progress the London Taxi Company has made. It seems like only a few weeks ago that I was here for the ground breaking and to see the first of the new taxi prototypes being assembled. This is great news for the local area and really drives home the resurgence we are seeing in automotive manufacturing.”
Mark continued:
“The West Midlands has a great automotive heritage and so it is fantastic to see the next generation of such an iconic vehicle being manufactured just on Rugby’s doorstep. I was also very interested to learn about the technological innovations that the London Taxi Company have had to make in order to produce a modern, zero emissions black cab.”
Mark concluded:
“During my visit, I also raised with Paul and his team the concerns of disabled residents in Rugby for whom using a taxi or minicab can be challenging. I know this is an important issue for many local people and I was very pleased that the London Taxi Company are making the next cab fully accessible for disabled passengers through a spacious passenger section and integrating an access ramp into the vehicle.”
Paul Wooley, Chief Operations Officer for the London Taxi Company added:
“It was a pleasure to welcome Mark back to Ansty to show him the huge strides we have made in the construction of our factory. Mark’s support for local businesses, like ours, has been invaluable over the last year, and we’ve really appreciated his continued interest in our next generation taxi project. The factory will be completed in the early part of next year, when I look forward to showing Mark the finished building.”