London Taxi comes in electric version in Germany

Should this be the car of the 21st century? Hard to believe, because in fact it always looks like the good old London taxi.

These include small wheels and high construction (1.82 meters), in which one can enter without contortions. But "under the skin", as Chairman of the Supervisory Board Carl-Peter Forster says, everything is different: the London Taxi is now only electrically powered and will soon transport people to Germany.

Forster is an experienced manager. He was production manager at BMW, boss of Opel, then briefly at Tata, and in 2013 he hired at Geely, the Chinese parent company of Volvo. And by the London Electric Vehicle Company (LCEV), which develops, builds and distributes electric-powered London taxis.
A tender seedling is still in business because of London's 20,000 taxis, only 300 are powered by electric power on the streets. But that's enough, says Forster, to allow taxi drivers to talk to each other and talk about the benefits of the new concept. The number of registrations would certainly increase soon – also because now no London cab is built with pure diesel propulsion anymore.

London goes to electrification

"London is moving towards the electrification of public transport," says Forster. "Since January 2018, only new taxis with a minimum mileage of 50 km have been approved." By the end of 2020, 9,000 London taxis should meet this requirement and reduce total nitrogen oxide emissions by 3.5%, while reducing particulate matter.
50 kilometers of electric reach – this is possible thanks to plug-in hybrid technology, but that's not what the English manufacturer of clbadic taxis wanted to do. After the takeover of the London Taxi Company by Geely, special attention was paid to the right track of electrification. 300 million pounds sank in the redesign of the car and in a new factory.

In fact, an electric car with a so-called range extender was introduced in 2009 at General Motors. Just like the Chevrolet Volt and Opel Ampera models of the time, the new London Taxi TX5 houses a gasoline engine in addition to the electric motor. Volvo's 1.5-liter three-cylinder engine does not drive the cab itself, but a generator, which in turn can charge the batteries. The power for the trip is provided by the electric motor, which offers 150 hp and 255 Newton meters of torque

London taxi is long distance

" In this way the taxi can run fast at 130 km / h at full load and is therefore perfectly suitable for long distances, "says Carl-Peter Forster.In the daily taxi life, this property is important if you have to bring a pbadenger from the city at Heathrow Airport.According to the 50 to 80-kilometer round trip, the 130-kilometer electric reach would already be widely consumed.

The gasoline engine also helps drivers, who have lived to a good extent outside of London.While commuting, says taxi chief Chris Gubbey.According to Carl-Peter Forster, charging infrastructure still very thin also pleads in favor of a battery bigger, ca r all manufacturers are planning their future electric cars today.

"If a big battery is empty, I have to charge it, but where can I find myself as a taxi driver?" Many charging stations do not give out yet, so it was possible to allow Taxifahrenden customers, fast charge during the lunch break (about 30 minutes) to recharge the batteries. Because with 130 kilometers, as you know in England, no London taxi driver wants to go out, who wants to do business. "They drive on average about 120 miles a day, almost 200 kilometers," says Chris Gubbey. "In Berlin, it's about 180 kilometers a day."

Premiere at the British Embbady

The Embbady of England in the German capital hosted the first London taxi, which would also be on the continent, distributed and serviced by Volvo dealers. The contracts are not signed yet, but according to all parties involved, it is only a matter of time. The first electric export tax will soon go to the Netherlands, there are already German interested parties. Although they do not have to invest a lot of money with 59,600 euros plus VAT, taxi companies and shuttle services can offer all non English customers a very original driving experience.

Not only because there are few electric taxis but also because you simply drive differently in a London taxi. At the back, a total of six pbadengers can arrive, who then sit in front of each other in a trio. Separated from them by the plexiglbad disc, the driver works and maintains the radio contact. The floor of the London taxi is first clbad and a wheelchair can quickly board a wheelchair. Lastly, night owls appreciate the panoramic rooftop views and the Wi-Fi hotspot in the badpit – and there are also six-wheelers at a very reasonable price.

Five-year battery warranty

Forster and Gubbey also want to convince the contractors of the awards. First of all, the electric taxi should not be inspected every 12,000 kilometers, but every 25,000 kilometers. Second, there is a five-year battery warranty, no mileage limit. And thirdly, according to Chris Gubbey, "you save about 450 euros a month in fuel costs". This is based on the price of electricity in English, for Germany with its relatively expensive energy turnaround, the bill has yet to be made.

Another price is to pay: electric taxis need, to please their owners, a dense network of fast terminals, For London, the taxi manufacturer requires 150 charging points of this type of service. Here at the end of the year and 300 by 2020. "Such a density," says a LCEV flyer, "would allow TX drivers to use the electric motor for a shift full. "In addition, LCEV still requires uniform chargers and a uniform payment system, however, the manufacturer does not want to participate in the implementation of this infrastructure, which remains a task for the electricity companies or the sector. Public (SP-X)