History Timeline

1979 David Constable approached to engineer a van to take a wheelchair.

1981 Prototype work completed and Car Chair Ltd was formed.

1983 Car Chair exhibited at the first ever Mobility Roadshow.

1985 Designed the new Fiat Fiorino rear access conversion which started two new eras in mobility.

1986 Negotiated with the VAT office that disabled customers who purchase a car fitted with a Car chair would be exempt from VAT on both the car and the conversion.

1987 The first company in the world to crash test a wheelchair and restraint system that was designed to be fitted to a standard production car. Car Chair was exhibited at the Atlanta Mobility show in America and hailed as the most advanced vehicular mobility system there. Car Chair was one of the first two conversion companies to be included onto the Motability Operations scheme.

1989 Car Chair supplied its first rear access vehicle that could take two wheelchairs.

1990 Designed The Statesman, a four door estate car converted to take a wheelchair in the rear based on the Vauxhall Astra.

1991 Invited to Buckingham Palace to meet Her Majesty The Queen with Motability on the event of handing over the 250,000th car.

1992 Car Chair gained TUV approval in Germany in order to sell systems to German clients in conjunction with a disabled workshop.

1996 Designed the Peugeot Expert for rear access use with the best eye line in the industry.

1998 Constables undertook a number of pull tests on a Kangoo to prove a number of their engineering ideas in readiness to put into their new designs.

1999 Along with Gowrings, Constables was an instigator and founder member of WAVCA (Wheelchair Accessible Vehicles Converters Association).

2000 David Constables co-wrote the WAVCA standards.

2001 Constables successfully gained Low volume type approval on their Kangoo conversion.

2002 Constables successfully gained Low volume type approval on their Peugeot conversion.

2005 Constables gained the Accord Technique from Renault.

2006 Constables were the first wheelchair accessible vehicle conversion company in the world to enter into a multi stage build agreement with Peugeot. Constables gained the Accord Produit from Renault.

2007 Constables launched their new Peugeot Expert.

2008 Constables launched their new Peugeot Partner rear access conversion at the Mobility road show. Constables successfully passed a witnessed pull test on the Partner at 190Kg - one of the first in the industry.

2009 Constables launched their new Renault Kangoo rear access conversion at the Mobility Road show one day before Renault launched the vehicle to the UK public.

2010 Constables launch the first wheelchair accessible conversion of the Nissan NV200 into the UK market. Constables move into a new purpose built design and production facility at Golden Cross, East Sussex.