Manganese Bronze, one of the main manufacturers of London black cabs, has signed an agreement with electric vehicle maker Tanfield to make battery powered taxis that should hit the streets by mid 2009.

31p now... keep heading downwards.

Looks like sneeky buying going on here and has been for a couple of weeks.

Very risky but taken a punt.

dyor.

On a roll here.

Going like the clappers on a bad day.

Shorters closing out quickly....

gogo goldfinger

could be worth a tickle despite china deal??

So what do punters think of Financial chief leaving? (recent RNS)
Was he entirely happy with the terms he was getting (for the equity placing I hear), or was it personal, being offered a larger office and secretary at some (as yet unknown) where else....
I'm not sure about the "electric taxi" - TAN connection - but then I'm not too clear why MNGS is falling like a stone. Can it be taxi-drivers are not buying new? Surely that's nothing unusual, they keep them for some years.
Mindyou, if there is a new electric vehicle proposed and it's free of Congestion charge that would make life easier for taxis - so they might "put off" buying until they see it, judge value etc.

Any other views ? . . Seems to me this has further to fall...... oh deary.

In the pass this stock is the first to come out of a recession ? a big but.

hangon -- their total sales figures for taxis is not alot and has been dropping. Many of the cabbies who previously bought them had no real choice. They are expensive - and short of luggage space. They are a relic of a bygone era. It's all very well when newspapers and magazines quote foreigners romantically pointing to London's black cabs as a great tradition, but that's not enough to win more than a few sales.

Juzzle, I agree but I thought in London "Black Cabs" were a protected species...still they are hoping to introduce a "saloon-car" taxi so that probably spells the end for the Black cab. Pity for tourists.
Now they have moved to AIM, still no likely dividend and had some other woes...it's all rather messy.
In their recent statement there was still hope of a placing (now fallen), but no mention of TAN or electric vehicles etc. - so I conclude it was Tanfield that wanted the deal, with MNGS rather more occupied closer to home.
+ I get the impression "electric vehicles" only work at two levels: 1) very small short-journey, so the weight is mostly the passenger. and 2) somewhat larger, so the batteries are a small part of the total load. This is the "transit" style that TAN has limited sales of to date.
+However, the London cab is quite tall inside, so passengers can keep their hats on...
EDIT (20/8/10)- sp up 8%, yet Sells are 18x buys...oh deary, is this rise MM-games, or is there a large buyer lurking?

Black cab is history.

I thought of picking some of these up a few days ago....but was uncertain....rocketed up on no news....

21 October 2010

Manganese Bronze Holdings PLC ("Manganese Bronze" or the "Group"), the leading manufacturer of the distinctive London taxi, today announces its interim management statement for the period 1 July to 20 October 2010.

Current Trading

Trading in the UK continues to be impacted by the uncertain macro economic conditions, as previously reported. Despite this, UK sales for the third quarter were up 11.0% on Q3 2009 at 466 vehicles (Q3 2009: 420 vehicles). This is particularly encouraging as 2009 sales were boosted by the favourable impact of the now discontinued Government funded scrappage scheme. This quarter's performance was broadly in line with our expectations.

Interesting....perhaps a good recovery stock....

Blast it....shot up on nothing....missed this....too late..now...damn, and I spotted this at 46p....

aggggghhhhhlllll....

rf, it's on the way down again.

Are MNGS still going 'Electric' ?
Sorry, i've been out of these for a while.

patshare, late reply: Ho Ho No! if they are, thery've got Tanfield to thank, like they need a hole in the head.
Strangely, I thought I saw on TV that "black cabs" (London-style) were to be exported/built abroad because their distinctive style protected the Public from crooks (although they could steal one, I guess). I'm not aware the cab is short of "luggage space" - I thought the "front seat" space was for that.(=Juzzle's ref.).

The issue I guess is that with limited sales the LBC is expensive to build. I don't wonder that "cabbies" resent mini-cabs with a F-Focus can be in business at a fraction of the investment - also, SatNav means they don't need "the knowledge" either. Maybe exclusive-elec would do the trick, but cabbies will have to increase fares - although "free fuel" will off-set the Capital Cost, until Gov taxes that, as well.

Still it's up to MB to meet the needs of their customers; although I, for one, would prefer my wife/daughter to be entering a Black Cab, rather than .....

4 mil blackhole over last 4 yrs.