AROUND 200 jobs will be created in the next eight years at Malvern’s ‘crown jewel’ firm after it was awarded a huge £6million grant to deliver a revolutionary industry project.
Delighted bosses at Morgan Motor Company say exciting times lie ahead at the famous factory and for the local economy following the Government’s announcement to pump £75million into the engineering sector.
As part of the investment, the Pickersleigh Road based British car manufacturer, which has been part of the town for more than a century, has netted the major seven-figure sum to develop hybrid and electric car systems which will help significantly reduce vehicle CO2 emissions and deliver ‘best-in-class’ fuel economy.
Morgan bosses have described the mega grant as ‘world changing’, adding the technologies developed through the project would be introduced progressively on their range of hand-built sports cars from 2019.
The funding has been awarded by the Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC), a ten-year, £1billion joint partnership between the Government and the automotive industry.
Business Secretary, Savid Javid, visited the Morgan site on Friday (January 15) to announce the major news and discuss the project at length with managing director Steve Morris.
Mr Morris said: “This is a very exciting project for us. We have been involved in the research and development of new propulsion technology since the inception of the LifeCar project almost ten years ago.
“We are now ready to develop the best hybrid and electric drive-train solutions for production implementation before the end of the decade.
“We expect the project to deliver growth and employment benefits here at Morgan and in our partner companies, but equally it will broaden the appeal of the Morgan brand and attract new customers in our key markets.”
Four other firms have been awarded mega funds to deliver exciting schemes including the London Taxi Corporation, a consortium led by AGM Batteries, Jaguar Land Rover and another consortium led by engineering firm Parker Hannifin.
Mr Javid said: “These new projects will cement the UK’s position as a leading global centre for low carbon innovation and manufacturing.
“Our fast-growing and diverse automotive industry has been especially successful at exporting high-value, high-technology vehicles all over the world, and our focus on next-generation innovation will ensure we can continue this progress and create even more high-skilled jobs.”
The five projects in total are expected to create and protect 851 jobs and save over 4.2million tonnes of CO2.
But Morgan bosses stressed new jobs would be created gradually within an eight year period, however, any new jobs would not be recruited for at least a few years time.
Since its launch in 2013, the APC has so far helped secure or create 4,800 jobs and saved 12million tonnes of CO2 by investment in low carbon automotive technology. Over its ten-year lifetime, the APC is expected to secure over 30,000 jobs.
Morgan Motor Company has been part of Malvern since it was founded in 1909.
