Spykers now being made in UK; soon to realise why everyone else left

teeb

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BBC News said:
Dutch car maker plans move to UK

A luxury sports car maker based in the Netherlands has announced it is moving an assembly plant to Coventry. Spyker Cars makes up to 50 luxury cars a year, mainly for the US market, with prices starting from about ?180,000. It said up to 45 out of 135 jobs would be at risk when it moved its assembly plant from Zeewolde in Holland to Whitley in Coventry by the end of 2009. It said the move would reduce operating costs as it would be closer to its main parts supplier CPP Manufacturing Ltd. Spyker Cars said its headquarters would remain in Holland.

Coventry was home to Jaguar car production in Browns Lane until it moved its plant to Castle Bromwich in 2005. Its engineering site is still based in Whitley. Peugeot also had a car plant based in Ryton, near Coventry, which shut in 2007. The city is currently home to Modec, electric car makers and London Taxis International, which makes the traditional black cab. Victor Muller, Spyker Cars chief executive, said: "With approximately half of our vehicles' parts and components sourced in the UK, and virtually all key suppliers being located there, moving closer to our suppliers and engineering partners will result in substantial savings and tangible efficiency improvements. We realise that jobs will be affected in the Netherlands but we believe this move is necessary under the current economic circumstances and is in the best interest of the company and all of its stakeholders."

The Society of Motor Manufactures and Traders chief executive Paul Everitt welcomed the move and said: "Investment in UK automotive facilities is good news for the industry."

Sauce.

The UK : We make black cabs, Spykers, Nissan Micras and Lotuses (Lotii?)!


From a more serious point of view, this looks like a gamble. They're banking on the UK pound's value staying low in order to keep costs low. If the pound suddenly becomes strong, they're in more trouble than before the move to the UK.

Also, all Spyker production moves to another country and 45 out of 125 jobs at risk? I would have thought that production line staff would outnumber boardroom staff, especially in a small company like Spyker.
 
I think if the pound gains, it would cost them more to remain where they were. The point of moving is so they are closer to the majority of their parts suppliers, thereby reducing massive shipping costs.

I do have to wonder how they go about the assembly though, I do agree that number of workers seems small, but they do only build ~50 cars a year according to the article, so they may not need additional staff at all.
 
45 workers sounds about right for 50 cars per year, and there's a substantial amount of overhead involved in selling cars (dealing with various regulators, lawyering, import regs, etc.) so the seemingly oversized HQ staff also makes sense
 
The UK : We make black cabs, Spykers, Nissan Micras and Lotuses (Lotii?)!

And the BMW-Mini, at the Morris plant in Oxford.


Well its good news for those people who lost their jobs due Jaguar and Peugeot, but I also have to feel a bit sorry for the Dutch workers, first the 3-cent per KM tax coming in 2012 and now another plant closes. I wish them great luck to get a new one! :)
 
And Toyotas and Hondas and a hundred tiny sportscars makers operating out of sheds.
 
Spyker are being sent to Coventry? Who did they upset?

(To those who don't live in fifties England like me, being 'sent to Coventry' means being cold shouldered and ignored by your group of friends or family for upsetting them.)
 
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