Eco-City revs up

29th Sep 2009 13:55

Eco-friendly commercial vehicle developer Eco City had its foot on the gas in the first half of 2009 as demand for the Mercedes-Benz Vito taxi it co-developed surged.Revenue improved 22% to £12.4m from £10.2m in the first half of 2008. Losses before tax narrowed to £0.1m from £0.7m a year earlier.'The results reflect rising demand for the ECV-developed new Mercedes-Benz taxi, which is rapidly gaining market share and has firmly established itself as the latest incarnation of one of London's most widely recognised icons,' said Peter DaCosta, chief executive of Eco City. 'We are now actively considering stepping-up production of the Vito taxi at our Coventry site over the next few months,' DaCosta added.Group margins remain under pressure but the group said its return to operating profitability 'on a continuing basis has also positioned it to take advantage of any upturn in economic conditions over the medium term.'