If Engelbert Humperdinck is feeling a little homesick in the unusual surrounds of Azerbaijan's capital, he should hail a taxi. Baku will bear a slight resemblance to the streets of London after adopting the distinctive black cab, thanks to the Azeri government ordering 1,000 of the cars ahead of Eurovision.
Manganese Bronze, the Coventry-based company that makes one of the UK's most distinctive products, said its vehicles were a natural choice when Azerbaijan looked to overhaul its transport infrastructure. John Russell, the firm's chief executive, said the London taxi market was revered around the world. "London is rightly perceived to have the best taxi service in the world, which is due to a mix of the quality and functionality of the vehicle and the quality of the training and the drivers," he said.
The government-backed taxi operator, Baku Taxi Company, is also receiving advice on how to run the service and driver training. "The [current] taxis are quite poor, the regulations and enforcement of those regulations are quite poor, and the president and government want to change that," said Russell. The taxis are being made by his company's joint venture with the Chinese firm Geely, which also owns Sweden's Volvo and 20% of Manganese Bronze.
The Azeri order is Manganese Bronze's biggest single piece of business and has been well timed for a firm that lost £2.6m last year. The UK remains the company's biggest market, accounting for 82% of sales, but it now sells London taxis in 20 foreign markets including Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Italy and France. Last year it sold 1,731 vehicles – with just over 1,000 accounted for by London alone.
Nonetheless, Russell expects Azerbaijan to order more vehicles. "Once Eurovision is out of the way, we will be sitting down to discuss the next order," he said. And will Humperdinck be using a black cab in Baku? Perhaps, if he is staying in an upmarket hotel and private transport has not been booked for him, said Russell. Just don't leave the Eurovision trophy on the back seat, Engelbert.
