TVR to stop UK production

[Pebb]

Source: AutoCar

TVR is to go back on its word and stop making cars in the UK. A short press release this morning confirmed that the Blackpool-based sports car firm had decided to 'outsource all production'.

There has been speculation that TVR would stop building cars in the UK since it was bought by Russian Nikolai Smolenski in 2004. The company shed between 70 and 150 staff in April, but it claimed the move was temporary and that it was still planning to move into new premises at a business park in Lancashire.

However, it has now stated that while fully-built powertrains will still be produced in the UK, the 2007 Tuscan, Tuscan Convertible and Sagaris will be made elsewhere in Europe. Smolenski said, "We are extremely sorry that, after a period of uncertainty and raised hopes that we could continue production ourselves in Blackpool, we have had to make this decision. We need to secure the future of the company and move it forward. I am afraid we see no other way to do so."

He added, "We are acutely aware of the shock and distress this will cause for our staff and their families. We will ensure that we meet all our responsibilities towards them over the coming months. We would also like to express our gratitude to all those who have worked with us over the past months to try to maintain the company in Blackpool. We shall be making further announcements in due course about our plans which we believe represent a major advance for the proud name of TVR."

Smolenski has repeatedly denied that TVR would be closing its UK operations. When he bought the company in 2004, he said that he wanted to double production by 2009, and make TVR "more British". Those plans are clearly now in ruins.

Earlier rumours had linked TVR with a new assembly line in South Africa, but it now seems set to stick to producing cars in Europe. However, given the desire to cut costs in the production process, it would be little surprise if the word 'Eastern' ultimately prefixes the word 'Europe' in TVR's plans.

 

[slackbladder]

That's bad news...

 

[TheCracker]

It's a sad day for UK car production.

This is surely bad news for UK TVR fans. Being British made is a big thing with TVR ownership 👎

 

[Jay]

Bad news indeed, sorry to hear.

 

[exigeracer]

I'm waiting to see how TVR fans will spin these news as good news.

Definitely not looking good for TVR. They've got their job cut out for them. Literally.

 

[Jim Prower]

I'm gonna have to see the final product.

 

[Poverty]

We should have all seen it coming. For TV to remain competitive and grow it had to be done.

 

[Dave A]

The engines and drivetrain are confirmed to continue being produced in the UK, it remains unclear exactley what production is being done overseas. Wherever TVR go in Europe they will not find better engineers than in the UK, and Germany will not be beneficial to the because it will not be notably cheaper to produce cars there. I think this move could in the long run be a profitable move for TVR, however in terms of what TVR's stand for, a big part of that is British, they're British built with British parts and British labour. They're the biggest independantly owned car manufacturer in Britain.

There's a bit of wait and see just how much production is going overseas, the less the better. Fiberglass bodywork can be made to a good standard in a lot of places in Europe, however the chassis and mechanical parts all need to be British in most TVR fans eyes.

There's been a lot of bad luck for TVR though this last year in terms of thier plans to increase production and quality, they simply don't have the facilities to be profitable enouh at Bristol avenue. After a lot of talks and negotiation they got the go ahead to move to Squires gate which wa all going well until health and saftey got in the way and all of a sudden Squires gate was no longer an option and there simple isn't anywhere else in the UK TVR can go. The site at Bristol avenue will not be thiers much longer since the lease is up and is not being renewed.

As much as I don't like the idea of any production being outsourced overseas, I do think Smolenski is apologising from his heart for going back on his word because there is simply little else to do. How long production will be outsourced is another question unanswered,, TVR's long term plans had them moving into Squires gate for a short period of time (relatively speaking) and then in a few years move into a new site that at this point in time doesn't exist. There is a chance that they are still looking to that site for the long term and will bring full production back to the UK. Hopefully that will be the case anyway.

Blackpool city council have made it quite clear that they will make a big effort to keep TVR in the area, they are going to be working on the Squires gate site and hopefull in couple of year the site will be safe for car production and they have held recent talks to Smolenski on the matter quite how it all fits together isn't known at this point in time though. The best case scenario is that this hasn't altered TVR's long term plans at all and in a few years they'll be back in the UK, the second best case scenario is that it's put thoes plans back a bit and in a few years they'll be at Squires gate, and then a few years on from that at the newer site. The worst case is that they won't bring full production back to the UK.

TVR plans to outsource production 18 October 2006


Staff at TVR's Blackpool factory have been informed today (Wednesday) that the company is planning to outsource all production.

Agreements are being finalised for the 2007 run of Tuscan, Tuscan Convertible and Sagaris to be produced in Europe while fully built powertrains - straight six, four-litre TVR engines including clutch and gearbox – are due to be produced in the UK.

TVR owner Nikolai Smolenski said: "We are extremely sorry that, after a period of uncertainty and raised hopes that we could continue production ourselves in Blackpool, we have had to make this decision

"We need to secure the future of the company and move it forward. I am afraid we see no other way to do so."

Consultation has begun with staff and the Transport & General Workers Union on redundancy and counselling support is being put in place.

TVR plans to continue with all current arrangements for the supply of cars and parts. Discussions are being held with key suppliers about future relationships.

Mr Smolenski continued: “We are acutely aware of the shock and distress this will cause for our staff and their families. We will ensure that we meet all our responsibilities towards them over the coming months.

"We would also like to express our gratitude to all those who have worked with us over the past months to try to maintain the company in Blackpool.

"We shall be making further announcements in due course about our plans which we believe represent a major advance for the proud name of TVR. But for the time being we are concentrating on our staff in Blackpool and the consultation process."

 

[YSSMAN]

Thats not great news, but things certainly could be worse. If it is a difference between having a TVR to buy or not having a TVR at all, what would be better? Because some man in Latveria (I know it isn't real) is putting the car together in final assembly, despite the fact that much of the design and powertrain is done in the UK, does it make the car any less British? Does that alone make you not want to buy one?

...Certainly the flag-waving nature of TVR will be hurt in the long run, but look at companies like Volkswagen and General Motors who often build many of their cars in foreign countries, and yet they maintain their own personal identity based uppon their locations. The Jetta may be built in Mexico, but it is just as German as the Fox, Polo, Golf/Rabbit, Passat, Phaeton, etc...

I'd hope that L4S is right in that this is just a temp. solution to the current problem. The future certainly looks good for TVR, particularly if they can get their plans for North American sales in-line, and if the factories in the UK finially come together, you can bet that the folks who buy TVRs will once again be proud to buy a truely British-built product once again.

 

[harrytuttle]

Without TVR, what native British car manufacturers are there? Lotus, Jaguar, Bentley, Rolls-Royce, Aston Martin...all foreign-owned and foreign-built (well, at least partially). TVR was the last major company, and that may not last either. It seems only Germany can keep things native. Japan does things all over the place (not to mention the Nissan-Renault alliance), Daimler-Chrylser, Bugatti, Lamborghini...even Spain isn't invulernable (SEAT).

Have there been any German manufacturers that are now non-German owned or run?

 

[YSSMAN]

I belive Opel would fit your bill there, under the ownership of General Motors since 1929. As for the rest, I belive Aston still builds all of their cars in the UK under management in the UK, despite the fact they are funded by Ford in the United States.

 

[KSaiyu]

Like the news said earlier, we gain investment (Tesla) but at the same time lose out (TVR).

 

[vladimir]

you can't build a TVR outside britain, thats just plain impossible!

 

[Pebb]

TVR can still be British, because Noble are British, but Noble have there body work created in South Africa, also in my mind as long as the drive train is still made in the UK, then TVR is still British to me.

Also remember the heart of a car is the engine, so with that still being made in England, it is mainly still classed as British in my mind guys.

 

[vladimir]

thats just the shell...

TVR had everything or at least almost everything made bespoke in britain...

 

[Scaff]

Its dark days for TVR indeed, I personally hope that the company can survive this, but have to say that I have personal doubts that the company will return to manufacture on UK shores. With significantly lower production costs overseas it would be madness to develop a profitable range (as I'm quite sure TVR hope to) and then come back to the UK and slash that profitability. That simply does not make economic sense.

Sad to say the news did not surprise me at all.

Without TVR, what native British car manufacturers are there? Lotus, Jaguar, Bentley, Rolls-Royce, Aston Martin...all foreign-owned and foreign-built (well, at least partially). TVR was the last major company, and that may not last either.

I can think of a few, notably companies like AC, Caterham, Ariel, Morgan, Bristol, Dare (Ginetta), Radical and quite a few more. Do these qualify as major companies, well certainly not all of them, but then again TVR's production volume has been low for the last year, so arguably they have been more news-worthy and high profile than most.

Noble are a bit of a strange one as they subcontract the manufacture of chassis components and bodywork to Hitech/Superperformance of South Africa, but the final finished car comes of UK production lines. Now to me that's quite different to what is being proposed for TVR. After all Ariel use Honda engines, yet the cars are firmly British, not Japanese. What that will make the next generation of TVRs is open to debate (and currently too unclear to honestly say for sure), still its fun to speculate, but I certainly can't see future models being in the same 'fire and brimstone' mould as the current cars.

Regards

Scaff

 

[Dave A]

At least the powertrain is all still being manufactured in Britain. I don't know where final assembly will be if the powertrains are getting shipped out of the UK or if the rest of the cars are getting shipped in. We do need more news and hopefully good news. I don't think the cars will lose thier raw edge, I do expect traction control to appear on future models but you'll probably have an off switch for when you reach the track. It's very much a case of wait and see right now though.

 

[Pebb]

I reckon you could see a new TVR factory in the UK in about 2 year’s time.

 

[Tornado]

More news on this, including possibilities of where they will be built:

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]TVR finally quits UK ![/FONT] [SIZE=-1]
A couple of days ago TVR's Russian boss Nikolai Smolenski announced that the company will close its production plant in the UK and subcontract the assembly work to an overseas supplier. All 260 staffs will be dismissed. This came as a shock after the company reached an agreement with local city council in June to stay in Blackpool. In the press release, Smolenski expressed regret to the decision but described that it is necessary to secure the future of TVR.

Smolenski did not reveal where the production will go, only said that it will remain in Europe and the engine will continue to be built in the UK. Now everybody is guessing who are the subcontractors. Yesterday Autocar reported that, according to insiders, the production will go to Bertone in Turin, Italy. This makes sense because Bertone's plant is now empty after finishing the production of Mini GP (it previously built Opel Astra Coupe and BMW C1 scooter). Subcontracting the assembly work to Bertone could reduce costs and dramatically improve the notorious build quality of TVR simultaneously.

Autocar also revealed that the production of Speed-Six engine will be transferred to UK engineering consultant Ricardo, which is already handling the modification work to comply with Euro IV emission standard.

While the decision to close Blackpool factory and leave UK seems cruel, it is probably a correct decision. To survive, TVR can no longer produce its cars in the old fashion way and ignore the call for high quality. Although UK may still be a good place for design and engineering, manufacturing has been a sunset industry there because of the cost / quality problems. As for design and engineering, TVR has plenty of choices in the UK, such as Ricardo, Prodrive and many ex-employees of other sports car specialists. This mean there is no need to keep running its own engineering and styling departments.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=-1]
Source



[/SIZE]

I can think of a few, notably companies like AC, Caterham, Ariel, Morgan, Bristol, Dare (Ginetta), Radical and quite a few more. Do these qualify as major companies, well certainly not all of them, but then again TVR's production volume has been low for the last year, so arguably they have been more news-worthy and high profile than most.

[SIZE=-1]Are not Lotuses still built in Hethel, despite being owned by Proton?
[/SIZE]

 

[Dave A]

Thanks for the article, Bertone would be a good choice, I'd still rather production remain in the UK though.

And yes, lotuses are still built in Hethel.

 

[Scaff]

[SIZE=-1]Are not Lotuses still built in Hethel, despite being owned by Proton?
[/SIZE]

They are but ever other company I mentioned is still 100% British owned, the reason why I did not include Lotus is the fact that they are owned by Proton and as such would now not be classed as a 100% British company. It the same way as Aston Martin, Land Rover, etc.

The post I was replying to quite clearly was discussing the lack of British owned companies and I was providing names of companies that were still British owned.

Without TVR, what native British car manufacturers are there? Lotus, Jaguar, Bentley, Rolls-Royce, Aston Martin...all foreign-owned and foreign-built (well, at least partially). TVR was the last major company, and that may not last either.

As you can see 'harrytuttle' mentioned Lotus in the piece I was replying to.


Regards

Scaff