Join +750K new investors every month who copy stock picks from billionaire's portfoliosSign Up Free

New electric London cabs to make foreign debut in Amsterdam

Published 11/07/2017, 14:08
© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Taxis are displayed at The London Taxi Company's new plant near Coventry
0175
-

By Costas Pitas

LONDON (Reuters) - A new electric version of London's classic black cabs will be exported to Amsterdam next year, its first overseas market, and the firm could source the batteries in Britain, the head of the Chinese-owned London Taxi Company (LTC) told Reuters on Tuesday.

LTC, which will formally change its name to the London EV Company later this year, is undergoing a rapid expansion since it was bought by China's Geely (HK:0175) in 2013, opening a central English plant in Coventry, earlier this year.

By the turn of the decade it hopes to sell to overseas markets 50 percent of the roughly 10,000 vehicles to be produced each year, including a van which could begin production in 2019, and has been showing the new electric plug-in hybrid taxi in a number of European cities.

Chief Executive Chris Gubbey said the firm had picked the Netherlands as its first export market due to its receptiveness to new technology and the new model's compatibility with the needs of disabled people, including its ramp and high roof.

"It is a city that is very progressive in terms of protecting and improving its air quality," he told Reuters.

"They just recognise what the product can do for their market: the accessibility, the ease of getting in and out," he said.

Dutch firm RMC is buying 225 vehicles which Amsterdammers will not be able to hail but will be instead used as a part of a service to transport the elderly and disabled, including to and from hospital, and could soon also be used in Rotterdam.

The TX model will go into full production later this year, ready to reach the first customers in around November, with a third of components British and the rest built abroad, including a Korean battery and Chinese engine.

The British car industry has boosted local content in recent years, reaching 44 percent, but the level remains short of the 55 percent stipulated in the kinds of bilateral trade agreements Britain will need to strike as it leaves the European Union.

The country is currently deficient in battery and electric vehicle production capacities compared with other major markets but ministers are pushing to boost infrastructure and could shortly approve its first electric car battery hub.

Gubbey, who was at an industry event in May where the proposals were made to Britain's business minister, said the firm could source batteries locally if such schemes came to fruition.

"There are opportunities to move batteries towards the UK," he told Reuters.

"The government is very focussed on that, even local to us, with the technology park that they are talking of putting in a manufacturing capability," he said.

As the firm grows and with fellow Geely-owned brand Volvo raising 5 billion Swedish crowns (458.21 million pounds) from a group of investors in a step towards a share market flotation, Gubbey told Reuters there were no plans at present for the cab-maker to also move in the direction of a share listing.

"We have no definitive timing or plan to pursue an IPO at this stage," he said.

"In the future, if that proves the right thing to do, I'm sure it's what Geely will look at."

(This story has been refiled to remove redundant word 'which' in paragraph 8)

© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Taxis are displayed at The London Taxi Company's new plant near Coventry

Latest comments

Risk Disclosure: Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.
© 2007-2024 - Fusion Media Limited. All Rights Reserved.