Dutch car-maker Spyker Cars begins UK production

A Dutch-based luxury car-maker began production in Britain today, bringing its assembly line to the same site as one of its major suppliers.

Spyker Cars said its new 20,000sq ft plant at CPP Manufacturing in Whitley, Coventry, will help it to increase production levels and cut costs.

The relocation from Zeewolde in Holland, announced last November, is likely to create around 40 jobs in Coventry, lifting CPP's workforce to 150.

Spyker's founder Victor Muller and chairman Vladimir Antonov visited the Coventry site today with Brendan O'Toole, managing director of CPP.

Capable of turning out five Spyker Aileron supercars each week on one shift, the new plant was described by Mr Muller as a landmark in the car-maker's history.

"This move makes sense on many different levels," he said. "CPP has been producing our body panels for 10 years and we have an extremely close working relationship with the company.

"More than half our components are sourced from the UK, so moving here will bring us considerable efficiency savings, which is vital for a car company of our size."

Mr O'Toole said the start of production at the site is positive news for Coventry against a backdrop of decline in UK car manufacturing in recent years.

"Spyker is a world-renowned name in the design and production of exclusive cars and CPP is extremely pleased to now be playing a larger part in that success story," he said.