Purpose-built taxi manufacturer Cab Direct's recent expansion has led to the creation of 60 new jobs in Britain.

The jobs increase comes mainly in frontline assembly workers, with the company introducing a night shift to keep pace with a growing order book for its wheelchair accessible taxis, sold throughout the UK.  Additional design engineers have also been recruited and further jobs growth is expected among Allied's supply chain, which includes many other British engineering companies and as a result of increased spending in the local community.

Ironically news of Cab Direct's successful expansion in Britain comes as rivals LTI have announced their intention to outsource production of their TX taxi to China.

Cab Direct's taxi sales across the UK have grown significantly over the past year.   The company has also benefited from decisions by several local councils, including Northampton, Edinburgh, Ellesmere Port and The Wirral, to end LTI's monopoly on supply of new taxis and to licence the E7 - the purpose-built hackney taxi manufactured jointly by Cab Direct and Peugeot. 

Managing Director Paul Nelson points to a strong focus on customer needs and continuous product improvement as being key to Cab Direct's success. 

"The taxi sector is always highly competitive but we've shown that we can win business everywhere we've been allowed to compete in the market", commented Nelson. 

He continued: "Sustained investment in product development, together with our close working partnership with Peugeot, has enabled us to offer the taxi driver valuable new features, while at the same time driving down prices.

"Rising demand for the E7 and M8 hackneys in particular has necessitated this further expansion in production, which will in turn continue to have a positive impact on manufacturing jobs here in the UK."

The Peugeot E7 is now available in more than 90% of council areas across the UK and is the country's leading alternative hackney taxi.  Many drivers in other areas, including Manchester, Leicester, Liverpool and London are becoming increasingly frustrated with the current monopoly enjoyed by London Taxis International.