PALS KICKSTART

DEEP in the heart of Scotland a new phenomenon is slowly emerging - a successful motor manufacturing company.

- BY MAGGIE BARRY

What makes this noteworthy is that car making and this country do not normally sit well together.

Those with long memories will recall the fate of the Hillman Imp plant. Opened in 1963 by the Duke of Edinburgh, it passed through the hands of Rootes and Chrysler before closing under the care of Peugeot.

Nearly five thousand jobs were lost and the local economy was devastated by the closure, immortalised in Letter to America by The Proclaimers - Linwood No More.

The view today from East Kilbride, however, is much different.

Here, on a small site, 10,000sq ft compared with the 324,000sq ft at Linwood, history and Scottish cars is slowly and carefully being rewritten.

Two young men are pioneering a new vehicle in a startup which has an order book of 246 cars worth more than £70million. By 2028, they hope to be producing up to 2500 cars a year with a staff of 300, which would make them a low-volume manufacturer.