HUNDREDS of jobs are to be created at Malvern's famous Morgan Motor Company after it was awarded a £6 million grant.

Around 200 jobs will be created at the Pickersleigh Road manufacturer, the only one in the world, over the next eight years as work begins on developing new less-polluting engines for its famous sports cars, thanks to the huge grant.

The award was announced by the government’s business secretary, Sajid Javid MP, during a visit to Morgan’s factory last Friday.

Morgan was one of the winners of a £75 million competition run by the Coventry-based Advanced Propulsion Centre, a 10-year, £1 billion joint partnership between government and the automotive industry to develop new low-carbon and energy-efficient technology in the automotive sector.

Mr Sajid Javid said: "These new projects will cement the UK’s position as a leading global centre for low carbon innovation and manufacturing.

"Our fast-growing and diverse automotive industry has been especially successful at exporting high-value, high-technology vehicles all over the world, and our focus on next-generation innovation will ensure we can continue this progress and create even more high-skilled jobs."

A spokesman for Morgan confirmed despite the impending vacancies, the factory is not currently looking to recruit.

"The new jobs will be created with an increase in production as a result of opening up new markets with our lower emission vehicles" he said.

The company, which has been in Malvern for more than 100 years, will use the funding to develop micro-size, fuel-efficient petrol engines to be used alongside the latest electrical technologies to produce hybrid sports cars and all-electric variants.

Morgan was one of five companies to receive the awards; among the others were Jaguar Land Rover and the London Taxi Company.

Morgan Managing Director, Steve Morris said “This is a very exciting project for us. We have been involved in the research and development of new propulsion technology since the inception of the LifeCar project almost ten years ago.

"We are now ready to develop the best hybrid and electric drive-train solutions for production implementation before the end of the decade.

"We expect the project to deliver growth and employment benefits here at Morgan and in our partner companies, but equally it will broaden the appeal of the Morgan brand and attract new customers in our key markets.”

Morgan Motor Company is the last remaining family-owned, independent British motor manufacturer. It is known for manufacturing sports cars in the classic British mould, and its 180 staff produce around 1,200 cars every year.

Jon Beasley, director for technology and projects at the Advanced Propulsion Centre, said: "This demonstrates the government’s on-going commitment to supporting the UK’s low-carbon advanced propulsion system innovation.

"Co-investment in technological developments to be delivered by industry-led consortia, range from high risk incremental growth programmes to innovative cutting-edge research and development, showing the UK is committed to establishing itself as a global centre for the promotion and development of low-carbon propulsion systems."