The London Electric Vehicle Company (LEVC) – formerly known as London Taxi Company – has unveiled its new electric black cab, known as the TX eCity, to be launched in London.
The TX combines British design and engineering as well as technical expertise from sister company Volvo. The TX is due to launch in London later this year following trial runs in October. Prior to the launch date of August 1 2017, LEVC said that it expected strong demand from its launch market in London.
The TX eCity. Photo: LEVC.com
LEVC has already announced an order for 225 TX eCity’s from the Rotterdam Mobility Center (RMC). RMC, one of the largest taxi and mobility companies in The Netherlands, will also become the importer for Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg. The vehicles will be delivered in 2018 and used for AOV, Amsterdam’s social transportation system currently run by RMC.
LEVC is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Geely, a Chinese multinational automative manufacturing company headquarted in Hangzhou, Zhejian. Geely has ambitious plans to be the urban commercial vehicle provider of choice for cities around the world.
“London has led the way in setting out tough measures to reduce taxi and van emissions and in just a few short years we expect electric vehicles for the commercial operator will not just become commonplace, but mandatory in cities around the world creating huge opportunities for LEVC globally,” said LEVC CEO Chris Gubbey.
The relaunch of London Taxi Company under its new name LEVC marks the next stage in its transformation, and is underpinned by an investment totalling 325 million pounds.
The UK government is working hard to meet commitments on reduced emissions, and on July 26 announced ambitious plans to ban the sale of all new petrol and diesel cars and vans from 2040 onwards.
The switch towards all electric cars will require a big increase in power production by the UK electricity grid. This will include new nuclear power stations being built with Chinese backing.
On July 25 Moody's Investors Service said that it continues to review Geely Automobile Holdings Limited's Ba2 corporate family and senior unsecured ratings for upgrade following its announcement of a proposed joint venture for the production and sale of vehicles under the Lynk & Co brand.
The rating review was initiated on July 12 2017. On July 20 Geely announced that it had entered into a memorandum of understanding with parent company, Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Company Limited, and Volvo Car Corporation, a subsidiary of Volvo Car AB, regarding the proposed formation of a joint venture company for the production and sale of vehicles under the Lynk & Co brand.
The formation of the joint venture company is expected to complete before Geely's launching of the first model under the Lynk & Co brand in Q4 2017, pending regulatory and shareholders' approval.
