British car maker TVR plans to more than double its production as part of new owner Nikolai Smolenski’s radical plan to improve his company’s profitability.
British car maker TVR plans to more than double its production as part of new owner Nikolai Smolenski’s radical plan to improve his company’s profitability.
It hopes to increase production from the current 700 to 2 000 units a year, matching figures last seen in the late 90s. Current production will concentrate on the better-equipped Tamora and T350 coupé and targa models. Only 500 of each model will be built before its replacement is launched and both the Tamora and T350 models have more then 100 units to go.
It will also simplify its model line-up by delaying the production of the planned Sagaris, Tuscan 2 and Typhon models.
Smolenski has already appointed more quality inspectors into the assembly process, saying he would like to achieve a production rate of 40 cars per week. He is also intent on finding new international markets, initially in Europe, but perhaps further afield as well.
‘This is a volume business,’ the Russian told . ‘The priority is to establish a stable but larger customer base before we can produce the new cars.’
Thirty-five new dealerships are being appointed across Europe, and the company wants to achieve full approval for its mainstream models for them to be sold in the US too.
After Smolenski bought TVR for an undisclosed amount in July this year, he said he planned to invest a large amount of cash to market the brand in the US and other markets.
“Plans for the future are to continue trading, invest heavily in new technology and production methods, and hence enhance the TVR brand to become a global player,” TVR said in a statement at the time.