Azernews.Az

BAKU – Manganese Bronze, maker of London's traditional black cabs, said it had agreed an order for 1,000 taxis with a company in Azerbaijan, sending its shares up nearly 50 percent on Thursday, Reuters reported.

The company, which has struggled with falling sales and market share, said the deal was the single largest contract it had received for its London taxi.

The $27 million deal will see 1,000 TX4 London cabs supplied by Shanghai LTI -- Manganese Bronze's joint venture partner with Chinese car manufacturer Geely Automobile Holdings -- to private Azerbaijani firm, the Baku Taxi Company, in 2011.

The Baku Taxi Company had been set up to develop a programme originally announced by the Transport Ministry of Azerbaijan to introduce London cabs into Azerbaijan's capital city, Baku.

The first shipment of 100 vehicles is scheduled for the end of April and balance of the order is expected to be built and shipped by the end of November 2011.

Manganese Bronze chief executive John Russell said: "We are delighted to win this order which is the culmination of considerable effort by the teams in Manganese Bronze and SLTI.

"The order demonstrates the potential of our partnership with Geely and the appeal of the London Taxi worldwide."

The firm has already received international orders for the TX4, from markets including France, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Italy.