10:28 am, November 16, 2012
GOOD news black cabbies: a fix for the TX4 steering problem has been found.
Manganese Bronze – currently under administration by PricewaterhouseCoopers – has managed to locate a UK-sourced steering box that solves the problems set out in the recall.
Around 400 TX4s were initially recalled and the production line stopped over the discovery of the fault – something that didn’t help the firm’s financial situation.
‘Since being appointed, the joint administrators have focused their resources on developing and testing a solution to repair the steering manufacturing defect as quickly as possible, working closely with The Mayor, Transport for London (TfL), the Licensed Taxi Drivers’ Association (LTDA), other drivers’ organisations and the Vehicle Certification Agency (VCA),’ said a press release by PwC.
‘The administrators today confirmed they have secured supply chain availability and logistics to begin a rapid replacement of the affected parts in the recalled fleet with new steering boxes from a UK supplier.’
Repairs will begin to take place from this weekend, and is ‘targeted for completion’ by December 14th.
Matthew Hammond, joint administrator for the firm, said: ‘I fully appreciate the difficulties that the recall has created for individual taxi drivers, fleet operators, dealers and availability of taxis in the London black cab market.
‘I hope that within a matter of weeks we will have addressed the main difficulties faced by drivers and the under-supply of vehicles to the London black cab market. We are working to get taxis back on the road as quickly as possible but clearly, with the large number of vehicles affected in London and also in the regions, this work will take several weeks to complete.’
