[fightingtorque]

I heard that British sports car firm TVR has sold out to some Russian guys, and that it may get moved to China or something? Anybody got any more info?

(I suppose I should try google.... idiot!)

 

[fightingtorque]

TVR to close sports car factory

Mark Milner
Tuesday April 25, 2006
The Guardian


Sports car maker TVR is to close its Blackpool factory, which employs 260 people, later this year, but pledged production would continue elsewhere.
The company, which was bought in 2004 by a Russian banker's son, Nikolai Smolensky, said it needed to move to smaller premises. "We have been talking about moving production for some time. There is no way this is the end of TVR," a spokesman said.

Output has fallen from around 15 cars a week to between six and 10, which has already led to 70 lay-offs, but the company said it was looking at ways of increasing its presence in markets in continental Europe and the far east. It said it had held talks with Nanjing Automotive, the Chinese car maker, about a joint production model.

Last night it was unclear where production would be moved to or how many jobs would be lost. "The company told us it intended to keep a presence in the UK, but did not say where it would be or if manufacturing was going to be transferred there," said Andy Robertson, the Transport & General Workers' Union regional organiser. "This is a further blow for car making in the UK."

 

[fightingtorque]

TVR in trouble? UK cottage builder undergoes massive layoffs
Posted Apr 22nd 2006 10:54AM by Chris Paukert
Filed under: Euro, Hirings/Firings, Plants/Manufacturing



For those of us hoping to see the brutally purist wares of British sportscar manufacturer TVR on American shores, we have some dispiriting news: the company is laying off nearly half its staff, if only temporarily.

A TVR spokesperson has been quoted as saying the job-shedding is the result of poor winter sales, but we can’t imagine the makers of raw-edged rear-wheel-drive powerhouses really expecting the marque to sell like so many Subaru Foresters when the white flakes hit. Something is up.

This, despite the sizeable cash infusion and ambition of their new-ish young owner, Russian Nikolay Smolensky, who purchased the company at a precocious age 23 (with an estimated wealth of $100 million dollars, he can afford such things).

Word is that output at TVR’s Blackpool assembly has gone from a dozen cars a week to just two, which means they aren’t even turning out a single example of more than half of their lineup on any given week.

Smolensky, we’re looking for an official Autoblog office runabout for quick nips down to the curry shop takeaway pizzeria, and your guys obviously could use the work, so how ’bout a nice Tuscan Convertible? We'll even let you pick the color.

[Source: BBC News]

 

[Windy]

You seem to have answered this yourself!

I doubt that Nanjing would have been very interested in these talks - a TVR is very different from an MG.

Here is a photo of some TVRs that I took last Sunday:

 

[fightingtorque]

any reason why nearly all of them were yellow? I would say on average most of them are green, blue or silver.

 

[Windy]

Yes - it was the "Yellow TVR Owners Club" St. Georges day event!
(Nothing to do with me though - I had my MG.)

When you buy a TVR you can choose any colour you want, the only condition is that the paint can be made by someone.

Its still not clear whats happening at TVR but it appears they are going to give up or be thrown out of their current factory and are to be moving to another, nobody knows where.