The London Taxi Company (LTC) owned by Geely, a Chinese car company is set to put into production the next generation of the iconic London Black Cabs. Geely had been in talks with the UK government officials over the possibility of converting London’s black cabs into electric-powered vehicles. Thus a close-to-production prototype called TX5 that previews the next Hackney carriage was unveiled yesterday during Chinese premier Xi Jinping’s state visit to the capital.
The TX5 is designed by LTC and will be built on Chinese electric vehicle technology. Penned in Barcelona by British designers, the TX5 styling takes come of its styling cues from the Austin FX4 cab. The tall grille, round headlights and its pronounced belt line are clearly inspired by the FX4 cab that was introduced in 1958. The retro inspiration is only visual, though, as the TX5 is built around an aluminum body structure wrapped in composite panels
The London’s black cab TX5 will offer six passengers seats— one more than the current model — and space for a few suitcases. Accessed via rear-hinged Suicide doors, the passenger compartment will be equipped with a tourist-friendly panoramic sunroof and in-car WiFi and charging ports for mobile devices. The TX5 also looks slightly different from the TX4. It’s slightly longer and taller than the outgoing TX4 but no wider.
One of the most notable advancements is that it will launch with a gasoline-electric plug-in hybrid drivetrain, a technology that will become mandatory for all taxi cabs operating in London starting 2018. Power for the TX5 is primarily provided by a four-cylinder engine, but the cab is also capable of driving solely on electricity. The black cab’s usual diesel engine is replaced by a battery-powered electric system with a four-cylinder petrol engine that kicks in once the charge has been drained. The displacement isn’t out yet, though. That said, it is known that the TX5 will come with an ‘electric-only’ range of 48 kms.
Geely has invested a whopping $460 million (around Rs. 3000 crores) for building a manufacturing facility in Antsy, UK’s first new auto plant in a decade, it will be responsible for producing London’s black cab TX5 and will come with an integrated R&D department. The brand new facility will be capable of assembling a minimum of 36,000 units per year and the plant will see seven different electric vehicles being produced in the long term, based on the same modular platform as the TX5. Geely invested to build a state-of-the-art cab that’s fully capable of fending off competition from much more modern passenger vans built by the likes of Mercedes-Benz and Nissan. The company plans to sell the model in the other markets as well globally.
London should be proud that it is recognized having the best taxi service in the world. This accolade is derived from a combination of the quality of the London Cabbies with their famous ‘Knowledge’, the iconic London Black Cab itself, and stringent consistent regulation from Transport for London (‘TfL’). If any of these three elements are missing, the crown would swiftly slip from London’s head.
