AN electric vehicle parts maker has praised its market reputation after further strengthening its order book with a £160m deal.

Sevcon says its unwavering focus on quality has helped retain customers and attract new business.

Matt Boyle, president and chief executive, said such demand helped push sales higher to £10m in the first quarter, which represented a 38 per cent increase on a year ago.

He also said the clamour has been matched by an investment in operations, which, while delivering a short-term financial loss, will provide long-term gain.

Mr Boyle was speaking after Sevcon, known for supplying controllers for the all-electric Renault Twizy city car, announced a deal worth up to £160m to develop an electric drivetrain for a Chinese and European vehicle maker.

He said: “It has been a lot of hard work building the reputation that has given us these opportunities.

“Our contract pipeline covers the globe and we are planning to add to it as we go through the year.

“We expect challenging conditions in the industrial markets in the near-term but remain very bullish about our prospects.”

Sevcon, which posted record sales of £40m in 2016 and employs more than 80 engineers at its Gateshead head office, previously picked up a £28m sportscar deal to develop controls for electrifying drive systems in high-performance machines.

It has also opened an office at Milton Park, near Oxford, which could yield work with nearby Formula One and supercar companies.

But a main driver in its recent growth has been bosses’ decision to take on Italian battery charger producer Bassi.

The company acquired Bassi a year ago to increase its hold on the electric vehicle market, sell equipment to more customers and enhance new controllers, and Mr Boyle said its impact has been substantial.

He said: “Bassi has performed above our expectations, having reported 33 per cent revenue growth post acquisition compared with the same three-month period in the prior year.

“We expect that momentum to continue in the second quarter.”

Mr Boyle also played down a loss of £1.9m across the first quarter, saying the figure was representative of spending to improve production.

He added: “The operating loss reflects our significant investment in engineering and sales and marketing personnel to capitalise on our strong and expanding project pipeline.

“Production revenues from these programmes are expected to start in 2017-2018.”