LEVC TX | |
---|---|
Overview | |
Manufacturer | London EV Company (Geely) |
Production | 2017–present |
Assembly | United Kingdom: Coventry (Ansty Park plant) China: Yiwu (Geely) |
Body and chassis | |
Body style | Hackney carriage |
Layout | Front-engine, rear-wheel-drive |
Doors |
|
Related | LEVC VN5 |
Powertrain | |
Engine |
|
Electric motor | 2x 110 kW (150 PS) Siemens permanent magnet synchronous |
Hybrid drivetrain | Plug-in series hybrid |
Battery | 31 kW·h, 400 V lithium ion |
Range | 377 mi (607 km) |
Electric range | 80.6 mi (129.7 km) |
Plug-in charging | |
Dimensions | |
Wheelbase | 2,986 mm (117.6 in) |
Length | 4,857 mm (191.2 in) |
Width | 1,874 mm (73.8 in) |
Height | 1,888 mm (74.3 in) |
Kerb weight | 2,230 kg (4,916 lb) |
Chronology | |
Predecessor | TX4 |
The LEVC TX [1] (previously known as the TX5) is a purpose-built hackney carriage manufactured by the British commercial vehicle maker London EV Company (LEVC), a subsidiary of the Chinese carmaker Geely. [2] It is the latest in a succession of purpose-built hackney carriages produced by LEVC and various predecessor entities. The LEVC TX is a plug-in hybrid range-extender electric vehicle. [2] [3]
The vehicle is designed to comply with Transport for London’s Taxi Private Hire regulations, which banned new diesel-powered taxis from January 2018, requiring zero-emissions capability. [4]
In the late 2000s, Geely was in talks over the possibility of converting London's black cabs into electric-powered vehicles. [5] From 2014, Geely invested £480m in LEVC to develop a new taxi, with a new factory to be built near Coventry. [6] [7] [8] Geely hoped to manufacture 36,000 vehicles per annum. [9] The vehicle entered production in 2017. [6]
In January 2020, LEVC announced plans to market the TX in Japan [10] with Fleetway and Service Company as the Japanese distributor. [11] Deliveries were reported to be made in Q2 2020. [11]
LEVC reported that taxis were sold in Azerbaijan for Baku Taxi Service in March 2020. [12]
The LEVC TX is built on a unique platform, underpinned by a bonded aluminium chassis built in the UK, giving the LEVC TX a 32 percent parts localisation rate by value. China and Europe each account for 32 percent of the content, while United States content is 4 percent. [13]
The vehicle's styling is an evolution of the now iconic shape begun with the original Austin FX4 of 1958, and the later TX1/TXII/TX4 series, although the distinctive rear hinged "suicide doors" last seen on the FX4 have returned.
The LEVC TX is powered by a full-electric hybrid drivetrain. It drives in full-electric mode all the time, but is recharged by an 81-horsepower (60 kW; 82 PS) Volvo-sourced 1.5-litre turbocharged three-cylinder petrol engine.
The LEVC TX is fitted with a 33 kilowatt-hours (120 MJ) battery pack supplied by LG Chem, and powers a 110-kilowatt (148 hp; 150 PS) Siemens-built electric motor for traction. [14]
When the battery pack has insufficient charge to power the vehicle, the petrol engine is claimed to achieve 36.7 mpg‑imp (7.7 L/100 km; 30.6 mpg‑US). [15]
The charge connectors are mounted either side of the radiator grille, and are a CCS socket, capable of 50 kW DC and 22 kW AC, and an optional 50 kW capable CHAdeMO connector. [16]
In accordance to London taxi regulation, the LEVC TX offers a turning circle of 8.45 metres (27.7 ft) (4.23 m (13.9 ft) of radius) which made possible by the front wheels that turn up to 63 degrees, instead of the typical 38 degrees. [17] [18] The LEVC TX also has a wheelchair ramp, which can be manually deployed by the driver when required.
The TX took advantage of 2018 Transport for London rules that allowed only zero-emission capable vehicles to become additions to the city's taxi fleet. [19] By February 2018 it was the only taxi capable of meeting these rules. [19] [20]
By April 2022, over 5,000 TX vehicles has been sold in London, around a third of London's taxi fleet. [21] In May 2022, LEVC announced that over 7,000 taxis had been sold worldwide. [22]
Outside London, the TX5 also serves as a taxi in Austria, [23] Australia, [24] Azerbaijan, [25] China, [24] Denmark, [11] France, [11] Germany, [26] India, [27] Israel, [28] [29] Japan, [30] Poland, [31] Spain [32] and Switzerland. [11]
A hackney or hackney carriage is a carriage or car for hire. A hackney of a more expensive or high class was called a remise. A symbol of London and Britain, the black taxi is a common sight on the streets of London. The hackney carriages carry a roof sign TAXI that can be illuminated to indicate their availability for passengers.
A suicide door is an automobile door hinged at its rear rather than the front. Such doors were originally used on horse-drawn carriages, but are rarely found on modern vehicles, primarily because they are less safe than a front-hinged door. Being rear-hinged, if the vehicle were moving and the door opened, aerodynamic drag would force the door open, and the driver/passenger would have to lean forward and out of the vehicle to close it. As seat belts were not in common use at that time, the risk of falling out of the car and into traffic was high, hence the name "suicide door". Another reason could have been that while a door was open on a city street, a speeding car moving in the same direction as the parked car could rip a front-hinged door off the parked car but someone inside the adjacent seat, even if moving to leave the car, could not get scratched. However, with a suicide door, someone inside or partially outside the passenger compartment would get struck by the suicide door forcefully swinging back to a shut position due to the impact of the speeding car on the door.
Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co., Ltd. (ZGH), commonly known as Geely Holding, is a Chinese multinational conglomerate headquartered in Hangzhou, Zhejiang. The company is privately owned by Chinese entrepreneur Li Shufu, and mainly engaged in the automotive industry.
A plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) or simply plug-in hybrid is a type of hybrid electric vehicle equipped with a rechargeable battery pack that can be directly replenished via a charging cable plugged into an external electric power source, in addition to charging internally by its on-board internal combustion engine-powered generator. While PHEVs are predominantly passenger cars, there are also plug-in hybrid variants of sports cars, commercial vehicles, vans, utility trucks, buses, trains, motorcycles, mopeds, military vehicles and boats.
The Austin FX4 is a hackney carriage that was produced from 1958 until 1997. It was sold by Austin from 1958 until 1982, when Carbodies, who had been producing the FX4 for Austin, took over the intellectual rights to the car. Carbodies only produced the FX4 for two years, until 1984, when London Taxis International took over rights and continued producing it until 1997. In all, more than 75,000 FX4s were built.. Over its lifetime, the FX4 increasingly became regarded as a design classic, and a visual icon of London recognised throughout the world, to the point where its eventual successors - the TX-series and the current LEVC TX - continue the FX4's basic styling cues and overall aesthetic.
Carbodies was a taxi design and manufacturing company based in Coventry, England. In its latter years it also traded as London Taxis International and The London Taxi Company.
The TX4 is a purpose-built taxicab manufactured by The London Taxi Company, a subsidiary of Geely Automobile of China. From 2007 until their liquidation in 2013 it was manufactured by LTI. It is the latest in a long line of purpose-built taxis produced by The London Taxi Company and various predecessor entities. The design has evolved via several mutations from the Austin FX3 of the 1950s. TX4's immediate predecessor is the TXII.
The Austin FX3 is a taxicab that was sold in the United Kingdom by Austin from 1948 to 1958. It was designed to comply with the Metropolitan Police Conditions of Fitness for London taxicabs, but was also used in other towns and cities in the UK. It was commissioned from Austin by taxi dealers Mann & Overton and built by Carbodies of Coventry on a chassis supplied by Austin.
An electric car or electric vehicle (EV) is a passenger automobile that is propelled by an electric traction motor, using electrical energy as the primary source of propulsion. The term normally refers to a plug-in electric vehicle, typically a battery electric vehicle (BEV), which only uses energy stored in on-board battery packs, but broadly may also include plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV), range-extended electric vehicle (REEV) and fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV), which can convert electric power from other fuels via a generator or a fuel cell.
A taxi, also known as a taxicab or simply a cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of their choice. This differs from public transport where the pick-up and drop-off locations are decided by the service provider, not by the customers, although demand responsive transport and share taxis provide a hybrid bus/taxi mode.
The Nissan NV200 is a light commercial and leisure activity, 4/5-door van designed and produced by the Japanese automaker Nissan since 2009.
Hybrid taxi or hybrid electric taxi is a taxicab service provided with a hybrid electric car (HEV), which combines a conventional internal combustion engine propulsion system with an electric propulsion system.
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A range extender is a fuel-based auxiliary power unit (APU) that extends the range of a battery electric vehicle by driving an electric generator that charges the vehicle's battery. This arrangement is known as a series hybrid drivetrain. The most commonly used range extenders are internal combustion engines, but fuel-cells or other engine types can be used.
The Ford Transit Custom is a mid-sized, front wheel drive van produced by Ford Europe since 2012. It marked a split in the Transit range, with the Custom being the smaller version and the Ford Transit being the larger. Similar to other Transit variants, the passenger versions were branded Tourneo Custom.
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The Toyota JPN Taxi, sometimes known as the Toyota Japan Taxi, is a hybrid electric taxicab built to universal design specifications mandated by the Japanese government. Exhibited as the JPN Taxi Concept at the 43rd Tokyo Motor Show in 2013, it has been produced by Toyota since 2017, mainly for the Japanese and Hong Kong markets.
London EV Company Limited (LEVC), formerly The London Taxi Corporation Limited, is a British automotive manufacturer with its headquarters at Ansty Park near Coventry, England. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Chinese automaker Geely. The company produces London’s famous black taxicabs.
The Ecotive Metrocab, first presented in December 2013, is a purpose-built electrically powered hackney carriage manufactured by Ecotive, a subsidiary of Kamkorp. The vehicle is designed to comply with Transport for London’s taxi regulations, which, from 1 January 2018, ban new diesel-powered taxis and require zero-emissions capability.
The LEVC VN5 is a plug-in hybrid panel van produced since November 2020 by British electric vehicle manufacturer London EV Company (LEVC), a subsidiary of Chinese automobile company Geely. The car was largely engineered by CEVT, a Geely subsidiary in Gothenburg, Sweden.