The recently rebranded, and now Chinese owned, London Taxi Company has opened a new factory in the UK to build a brand-new plug-in hybrid (PHEV) cab. The factory in Ansty, near Coventry, is the UK’s first dedicated electric vehicle manufacturing facility, according to its owner.
London Taxi Company’s owner Geely has spent more than £300 million on the factory and the new Black Cab, and has promised that it will create around 1000 new jobs at the facility.
What will your new Black Cab look like?
Judging by the pictures of the camouflaged car, reassuringly familiar. It might well be the ‘the world’s first purpose-built, mass-market electric taxi’ but it’s been styled with more than a nod to traditional taxis, which will please London Tourism no end.
The new cab will go on sale in 2017. Under the familiar looking skin will be battery technology from Volvo built on a new adaptable platform, which will no spin-off new vehicles including a small van.
The aluminium-bodied new cab will carry six passengers and remains accessible to wheelchair users. London Taxi Company’s new West Midlands factory will have capacity to build more than 20,000 cabs a year, with exports due around the globe.
