Black cab maker's hitch
Folk on the streets of Azerbaijan trying to hail a taxi have had their thumbs out for a long time.
Today Manganese Bronze, the company that makes London black cabs, said an order from the western Asian country had been delayed due to financing problems at their end.
The last 500 of a 1000-strong order will now be delivered by the end of this month instead of in last October as planned. This delay and lower UK sales will push the company into a loss for the year, "a disappointment", admitted chief executive John Russell.
But he reckons this year will be better. A new rule that London cabs should be no older than 15 years should lead to a surge in business. Manganese reckons that of the 21,000 black cabs licensed for use in the capital, around 3000 will need to be put into retirement this year.
A new TX4 taxi costs around £30,000. The trading update noted there were 328 TX4 sales in the last quarter of 2011, a fall of 15% on a year earlier.
In 2011, 1653 vehicles were sold in the UK, down 9%. The statement said: "The unresolved eurozone sovereign debt crisis and its potential impact on banks has undermined confidence within the global banking community and made it more difficult to secure finance for international trade."
