Swaythling passenger cars in the UK, leaving the Southampton made Transit as their only British-made vehicle. In 2009, with the new Kocaeli, Turkey, plant in full production, Ford reluctantly halved production at Southampton and reduced the workforce to just over 500. Employing 500 workers, the factory produced up to 35,000 Transit chassis/cab variant vehicles annually, of which 50% were exported. The Ford Southampton plant closed on 26 July 2013. The very first branch of the DIY chain B&Q was opened in Swaythling in 1969. The shop was owned by Messrs Block and Quayle. Swaythling railway station is on the main line
Eric Quayle the prolific Michael Foreman. Quinton Quayle, the retired British diplomat, is one of Eric's children as is Chrissy Quayle ("The Mermaid of Zennor") the musician. Quayle died in a fall from the cliffs at Zennor Head near to his home, "Carn Cobba"; a house noted for its cliffside gardens. Eric Quayle Eric Stanley Quayle (1921–2001) was a noted British bibliophile, collector, historian and author. Over his lifetime he built up a substantial collection of books (16,000 volumes at the time of his death) and literary ephemera amongst which were materials by and about R. M. Ballantyne, the Victorian adventure story