London Electric Vehicle Company
Formerly | The London Taxi Corporation |
---|---|
Type | Subsidiary |
| |
Industry | Automotive |
Predecessor | LTI Limited |
Founded | 2013 |
Headquarters | Ansty, Warwickshire , United Kingdom |
Products | Taxicabs, Vans |
Owner | Zhejiang Geely Holding Group (100%) |
Parent | Geely UK Ltd. |
Website | levc |
London EV Company Limited (LEVC, formerly The London Taxi Corporation Limited trading as The London Taxi Company) is an automotive engineering company with its headquarters near Coventry, England, and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Chinese automaker Geely.
The company is famous for its London black taxicabs.
History[]
Geely's involvement in British taxicab production dated to 2006 when it partnered with LEVC's predecessor The London Taxi Company, and its parent Manganese Bronze Holdings, in the creation of a China-based taxicab manufacturing joint venture.[1] In 2009 Geely bought shares in Manganese Bronze Holdings.[2]
In 2012 Manganese Bronze Holdings entered administration due to lack of funding.[3][4] In 2013 Geely rescued part of the business and created its own taxicab production company as The London Taxi Corporation Limited.[5]
In 2015 Geely announced plans to build a new £250 million plant for the London Taxi Company in Ansty Park near Coventry, with production planned to start at the new site in 2017.[6]
The company launched the new LEVC TX electric taxi in 2017 and announced its intentions to begin production of electric commercial vehicles in addition to taxicabs.[7]
The joint venture, Shanghai LTI Automobile Components Co Ltd, makes the TX4, a licensed London Black Cab,[8] in Fengjing, Shanghai,[9] and exports semi-complete knock-down kits for assembly in the UK.[8]
Models[]
TX[]
Geely had been in talks over the possibility of converting London's black cabs into electric-powered vehicles. The company said it had held talks with UK government officials about the plan.[10] In May 2016, it was reported that they had secured £275 million for the project, which aims to manufacture 36,000 vehicles per year at its new Coventry, UK plant.[11][failed verification] The TX range extender electric vehicle will be made at a new facility near Ansty, 5 miles (8 kilometres) northeast of Coventry. [12][13][14]
VN5[]
An electric van was revealed by LEVC on 17 June 2019, and will be available to order in the second half of 2020.[15] In March 2020, LEVC confirmed that the new van would be called LEVC VN5.[16]
References[]
- ^ "Black cab, U.K. transport icon, to be made in China – Business – International Herald Tribune". The New York Times. 4 October 2006. Retrieved 10 November 2012.
- ^ "Geely set for control of London cab maker". Reuters. 17 March 2010. Retrieved 31 October 2012.
- ^ "Manganese Bronze calls in administrators". BBC News. 22 October 2012. Retrieved 22 October 2012.
- ^ "London black cab maker Manganese Bronze enters administration". The Guardian. 22 October 2012. Retrieved 22 October 2012.
- ^ "Coventry taxi maker LTI sold to Chinese firm Geely for £11.4m". BBC News. 1 February 2013. Retrieved 18 February 2013.
- ^ "London Taxi Company Coventry plant to create 1,000 jobs". BBC. 26 March 2015. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
- ^ Mullen, Enda (11 July 2017). "London Taxi Company to change its name after 69 years". Coventry Telegraph. Retrieved 17 August 2017.
- ^ a b "Shanghai LTI Starts Supplying SKD TX4 to the UK". ChinaAutoWeb. 25 August 2010.
- ^ "British icon on wheels made in China". China Daily. China Daily Information Co. 5 September 2008. Retrieved 18 April 2012.
- ^ "Geely: we'll make an electric London Cab". China Times. 20 October 2008. Retrieved 1 December 2012.
- ^ "City AM". City A.M. 20 May 2016. Retrieved 20 May 2016.
- ^ "Coventry – is the UK's 'motor city' still driving forwards?". BBC News. Retrieved 12 December 2016.
- ^ "London taxis to take on the world as hybrid TX5 sets sights on global exports". The Independent. Retrieved 12 December 2016.
- ^ "London taxi-maker raises $400m to develop greener cabs". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 December 2016.
- ^ "LEVC reveals new taxi-based range-extender delivery van". Autocar. Retrieved 17 June 2019.
- ^ "LEVC VN5: name confirmed for taxi-based range-extender delivery van". Autocar. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
External links[]
- London EV Company
- Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 2013
- British companies established in 2013
- British subsidiaries of foreign companies
- 2013 establishments in England