Why London black cabs might ferry you around the Tokyo Olympics
Londoners visiting Tokyo this summer will find a small part of home on the streets of the Japanese capital, after a fleet of London black cabs comes to the city in time for the Olympic Games.
The London Electric Vehicle Company, the UK-based maker of the plug-in hybrid version of London’s black cabs which is owned by Chinese giant Geely, is rolling out its taxis to the city.
Order books for the black cab, called the TX, will open in February, while the vehicles will start hitting the streets of Tokyo during the second quarter of 2020.
The plug-in hybrid is the London Electric Vehicle Company’s (LEVC) first electrified model. Geely bought the company, previously known as London Taxi Corp, in 2013.
The UK remains the firm’s biggest market – but the black cabs have already been exported to Holland, Germany, France, Switzerland, Denmark and the Middle East.
Furthermore the company expects that 60 percent of the vehicles built at its Coventry factory will be for export by 2022, while the remaining 40 percent will service the UK.
Joerg Hofmann, LEVC’s chief executive said: “We are delighted to further grow our international footprint of green mobility solutions with the launch of the TX in Japan.
“We are reinventing a British icon, transforming the company from a traditional taxi manufacturer to a green mobility company, producing a wider range of electric commercial vehicles.
“The electric TX will set new standards across Japan in the taxi and premium shuttle market, delighting passengers, drivers and fleet operators alike.
“We are looking forward to seeing TX on the streets of Tokyo and across cities throughout Japan.”