China's Geely saves London cab maker Manganese Bronze Manganese lacked the financial support to cope with the scale of the problem, and production and sales were halted. More than 156 workers were made redundant at the headquarters and manufacturing plant in Coventry, as well as at Manganese dealerships in London, Manchester, Leeds, Edinburgh and Glasgow. At the time, Manganese's chief executive John Russell said the recall proved to be the "fatal blow" after a series of troubles and losses over the past four years. The steering fault was subsequently corrected and all 400 of the affected taxis were returned into service. Donghui Daniel Li, chairman of Geely UK, said yesterday the company was committed to manufacturing in Coventry and that further jobs would be created once its manufacturing network was re-established. He also said he was "confident" the business would return to profitability within three years at the most, and that manufacturing of other models might begin at Coventry. Mr Li added: "We see great potential in international markets, including China, Eastern Europe, Western Europe and North America. Geely said it would be assessing the future needs of the London taxi market, with a view to developing new models to follow the current TX4, "improving the energy efficiency and environmental footprint of the traditional London cab and examining the potential for entering the private hire market." Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London, welcomed Geely's move, which he said ensured "the continuing manufacture of a world famous, fully accessible and instantly recognisable vehicle synonymous with London." Peter Johansen, who was finance director at Manganese Bronze, has been appointed executive vice president of Geely UK's Black Cab operations.