OXFORD car-component company Unipart remained tight-lipped in the wake of Rover's demand that suppliers cut the cost of parts by 20 per cent.

Unipart, which employs about 1,500 people in the Oxford area, has an exclusive deal to supply Rover after-sales parts until 2002.

Rover has also warned that suppliers can expect smaller orders as a result of poor sales figures for Rover cars.

But a Unipart spokeswoman declined to comment on how Rover's demand might affect Unipart. Tamsin Johnston said: "Details of our deal with Rover are confidential, as the details of any of our deals with customers always are."

A spokesman for loss-making Rover, Vin Hammersley, said: "We're looking for cost cuts everywhere, both within the company and among our suppliers.

"We aim to be a profitable company by the year 2000." He added: "We've already announced 2,500 redundancies at Longbridge.

"Now we have told suppliers that we want to review the £4bn we spend each year on components.

"That accounts for more than half our annual turnover."

Rover parts suppliers have also been told that many Rover purchasing executives have been replaced by executives from Rover's parent company, BMW.

Trade and Industry secretary Stephen Byers visited Longbridge yesterday to reassure 14,000 workers that the Government is pressing BMW to honour its promise and invest heavily in the plant.

Story date: Wednesday 10 February

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