£1.6m funding spark for Tanfield's electric cars

SHARES in electric vehicle maker Tanfield Group surged ahead yesterday after the company announced its bid for UK government funding had been successful.

Tanfield – along with Ford and taxi maker Manganese Bronze – is eligible for £1.6 million of funding under the Ultra Low Carbon Vehicle Demonstrator Programme.Sixteen vehicles will be built under the scheme, at a total cost of £3.2m.Tanfield will develop five people carriers, based on the Ford Connect Tourneo design – which was demonstrated at the Geneva motor show – and one minibus, based on the Ford Transit chassis.Along with Manganese Bronze, Tanfield will also build ten electric taxis.Darren Kell, chief executive of Tanfield, which has a market cap of about £55m, said: "This funding will support our plans to transfer leading edge electric vehicle technology from our vans and trucks into passenger vehicles."This project opens up a raft of exciting possibilities for us. Tanfield is already acknowledged as the leader in electric vehicles that move goods; this enables us to address the market for electric vehicles that move people."Tanfield, which is based at Washington, on Tyne & Wear, sells vans under the Smith Electric Vehicles brand.