Manganese sounds alarm on cabs after a boom year

The alarms were ringing today after the manufacturer of London iconic black cabs, often taken as a bellwether for the health of the capital's economy, warned today that sales in the first months of 2008 are sharply down from last year.

Taxi maker Manganese Bronze admitted today that its cab sales are usually the victim of any "uncertainty in London's financial markets", adding: "Sales in the first quarter are below last year due to this uncertainty."

Finance director Mark Fryer added: "This year we have seen some exceptional volatility. Sales in January and February were poor but this may have been because customers were holding off for the new registrations as March was a near-record month. However, April is not looking so good again."

The trading update took the gloss off strong results for 2007 for Manganese Bronze, which enjoyed sales in the year of 3100 cabs, second only to its best year of 2000 when disabled access was made mandatory for new models.

Last year's strong sales were due to the introduction of its latest model, the TX4, which saw Manganese report profits in the 17months to the end of December of £5 million and dividends in the period totalling 7.25p, up a fifth from the previous 12-month reporting period.

Manganese Bronze is to change irrevocably within the next two months as its joint venture in Shanghai starts producing its first prototypes for the Chinese market.

It plans to produce 20,000 cabs a year in Shanghai, half for the domestic market and half for export to the US, Thailand and Nigeria.