Vans synonymous with Birmingham is making a comeback in the city – only it is being built nearly 6,000 miles away.
LDV vans, built at Washwood Heath until the firm’s collapse seven years ago, will go on sale in the UK again – only this time they are made in China.
The assets of LDV were bought by Chinese businesswoman Qu Li in October 2009 although original plans to relaunch the firm at a site in Birmingham making eco vans failed to progress.
But the LDV Maxus-style van has since been revived by Chinese giant SAIC, which also own MG UK at Longbridge – and it is now planning to take on the UK market.
Nobody from SAIC was available to comment but reports in the industry press claim Maxuses will be imported into the UK by Dublin-based Harris Group – which already has a deal to distribute LDV in Ireland.
Automotive expert David Bailey, professor of industry at Aston Business School said after SAIC started selling the vans in Australia, they were bound to eventually return here.
He said: “Clearly, they have been building these in China and exporting them for some time, so it was inevitable they’d reappear on our streets at some stage.
“However, there is an element of sadness that we will see vans that were once made in Birmingham. It’s a bitter irony.”
The SAIC Maxus V80, based on the LDV Maxus previously built here, will be the first to enter the UK market.
The V80 series had been launched at the 2011 Shanghai Auto Show and went on sale in September of that year. The Chinese firm has clocked up several thousand sales of the model, including in Chile, South Africa and South-East Asia.
Other LDVs joining the UK line-up in the coming years will be the EV80, which is a full-electric version of the V80, and an all-new pick-up truck.
Initially, the Harris Group has a quota of 3,000 units, reports claim.
Seven years on from LDV’s collapse, Prof Bailey said the market for vans to be built in Birmingham was far stronger now, as shown by the success of Jaguar Land Rover.
He said: “It is a shame because the environment has changed dramatically.
“During the global downturn the industry was on its knees, and there were lots of questions being asked about whether the Government should pump money in.
“But it is a very different time now. The UK has become a great place to make cars and vans.”
