Following the official opening of its new R&D and manufacturing facility in Ansty, the London Taxi Company has announced a new range-extender electric delivery van.
This eco-friendly LCV will be produced in Coventry alongside the recently unveiled next-generation London taxi, an eco-friendly electric cab built on a Volvo electric powertrain.
The all-new electric LCV is aimed at providing fleet owners with lower running costs, while improving air quality in cities dealing with pollution problems.
Chris Gubbey, CEO of the London Taxi Company said: “This is going to be the future-proofed ’white van’ that people have been waiting for. Designed solely for the urban commercial sector, it will be clean, competitive and ready for the future.”
Air quality issues that are ongoing in cities such as London, Shanghai and Los Angeles have generated high demand for zero-emissions-capable commercial vehicles to provide clean “last-mile” delivery and distribution. The London Taxi Company is eager to take a slice of this segment of the urban commercial vehicle market.
Carl-Peter Forster, Chairman of the London Taxi Company said: “In addition to our brand-new taxi, the manufacturing of this all-new light commercial van is a transformative step for the company as we will move from a single product, single market organisation to a multi-product, multi-market organisation.”
The London Taxi Company’s research and development team of around 200 people, now based in Ansty, will be building the new van from the same EV platform architecture that is shared with the new London cab which will go on sale towards the end of 2017.
With the electric platform and manufacturing capability already in place for the eco cab, the company intends to market the new LCV through an incremental additional investment of around £30m taking the total investment from parent company Geely to £325 million.
