London black taxi cab gets 21st century makeover

Back in 2012, the UK manufacturer of London’s iconic black cabs was facing an uncertain future.

Having failed to make a profit since 2007, and with administrators poised to take control of the finances, it appeared that the London Taxi Company’s (LTC’s) 70-year history of producing one of the UK’s most distinctive-looking vehicles was about to come to an end.

That was until Chinese automotive giant Geely Group – already a major shareholder – stepped in with an £11.4m rescue package, took ownership of the firm and unveiled a bold plan to expand production, target new overseas markets, and reinvent the company as a leading developer of specialist lightweight, low-emission vehicles.

Four years and £300m of investment later, these plans are now beginning to come to fruition. And this month LTC officially opened a sparkling new production plant in Ansty, on the outskirts of Coventry.

The first facility of its kind to be built in Britain for more than a decade and the first dedicated electric vehicle (EV) factory in the UK, the plant will initially be used to manufacture the TX5 – the firm’s next-generation, low-emissions taxi. In the longer term, LTC plans to use the lightweighting and powertrain expertise gained during the development of the cab to launch a wider range of low-emissions vehicles. But, for the moment, it’s the TX5 – which will begin rolling off the production line later this year – that’s the focus of attention.