Record sales for accessible vehicle maker Allied

Allied Vehicles, which specialises in manufacturing wheelchair-accessible taxis, cars and minibuses, has hit a record for sales through the Motability scheme.

Allied sold a record 350 wheelchair-accessible vehicles via the Motability scheme in May. Picture: Contributed

The Glasgow-based firm, which works with major car manufacturers including Fiat, Ford, Peugeot and Volkswagen, sold 350 wheelchair-accessible vehicles via the scheme during May.

The figure was a 55 per cent increase on the same period in 2015 and also represented just over half of all wheelchair accessible vehicles supplied in the UK during the month through Motability, which enables disabled people to lease a new car using a government funded allowance.

Peter Facenna, sales director at Allied, said: “This is the first time in many years that one company has sold more than half of the wheelchair-accessible vehicles on the Motability scheme in any one month, which confirms our position as the top producer and supplier of wheelchair-accessible vehicles in the UK.

“It’s very encouraging to know that our accessible cars and people carriers are helping improve mobility for so many wheelchair and scooter users across the UK.”

Allied, which employs almost 600 staff, mostly at its 28-acre site in Possil Park, also operates the UK’s largest hire fleet of wheelchair-accessible and adapted vehicles and Scotland’s largest superstore dedicated to mobility products.

The firm, which is also a supplier to the UK taxi market with more than 6,000 vehicles annually, has seen turnover increase by 74 per cent to £106 million in the past five years.

Last week, Allied’s chairman Gerry Facenna was appointed honorary consul of Mexico in Scotland in a move aimed at strengthening economic links between the countries.