Manganese Bronze and Tanfield to Produce Electric London Taxis by 2009
22 April 2008
Manganese Bronze, parent of LTI Vehicles, one of the main manufacturers of London black cabs, has signed an agreement with the Tanfield Group, parent of Smith Electric Vehicles, to make battery electric taxis that should hit the streets by mid 2009.
The new taxi, which is designed for use in congested areas, will be based on LTI’s TX4 black cab. The electric cab will have a top speed of 50 mph and a range of 100 km (62 miles) on each battery charge.
In 2003, LTI signed an agreement with Azure Dynamics to develop black taxis with hybrid-electric powertrains. The partners launched a prototype hybrid London taxi in 2004. Azure Dynamics is also a supplier of electric powertrains to Smith Electric Vehicles. (Earlier post.)
Smith and Ford recently launched the Smith Ampere, a new electric vehicle product aimed at the light van sector. Ampere, which utilizes the Ford Transit Connect chassis and will be jointly branded Smith and Ford, was designed and developed by Tanfield in collaboration with Ford. (Earlier post.)
(A hat-tip to John!)
Tanfield's own description of this taxicab deal with Manganese Bronze refers to targetting the domestic (ie UK) market.
I wonder if this is so they can leave open the possibility of using the newly launched Smith Ampere as the basis of a US-focussed taxicab? Ford recently exhibited a prototype taxicab variant of their 'Transit Connect' vehicle at shows in Chicago and New York. The Smith Ampere is based on that same Transit Connect model, and Ford are known to be working closely with Smith Electric Vehicles on bringing all-electric commercial vehicles to the US marketplace.
Posted by: Stan Wellaway | 23 April 2008 at 01:18 AM
Fantastic news. City pollution will get lower and the cabby should save around £5,000 per year in fuel costs.
Cabbies will love this, even if they have to charge up somewhere for 15 minutes three times a day.
Posted by: clett | 23 April 2008 at 06:40 AM
Many qucik charge or battery exchange stations will be required to make those cabs practical.
The area covered by those cabs will have to be restricted to the availability of recharge stations.
GPS + special program could help the drivers to locate the nearest service station.
Eventually, all city cabs will have to be PHEVs or BEVs. Since they need a special license to operate, that should not be difficult to regulate. The license fees could be proportional to the CO2 generated. Something between $0.50 to $1.00 per Kg (CO2) should be enough to convince cab owners to use Hybrids, PHEVs or BEVs.
Wonder which city will be the first to introduce similar measures. London? L.A.? Vancouver, Beijing, Tokyo?
Posted by: Harvey D | 23 April 2008 at 07:26 AM
Many qucik charge or battery exchange stations will be required to make those cabs practical.
The area covered by those cabs will have to be restricted to the availability of recharge stations.
GPS + special program could help the drivers to locate the nearest service station.
Eventually, all city cabs will have to be PHEVs or BEVs. Since they need a special license to operate, that should not be difficult to regulate. The license fees could be proportional to the CO2 generated. Something between $0.50 to $1.00 per Kg (CO2) should be enough to convince cab owners to use Hybrids, PHEVs or BEVs.
Wonder which city will be the first to introduce similar measures. London? L.A.? Vancouver, Beijing, Tokyo?
Posted by: Harvey D | 23 April 2008 at 07:28 AM
Escape hybrids are used for cabs some places in the U.S. I heard that cab drivers were doubtful in the beginning, but now want to be assigned one by the cab company for their daily shift.
Posted by: sjc | 23 April 2008 at 12:34 PM
I am a London Cabbie and am up for anything that saves me money on the UK's massive fuel prices. My only reservation about an electric cab is the distance before re-charging. I only live 5 miles from the centre of London & yesterday in an 8 hour shift, I covered 116 miles!
Posted by: Berto de Cabio | 24 April 2008 at 09:54 AM
60 EV taxis were supposed to go into service in Rome in 2006, powered by Zebra batteries. Did this happen?
Posted by: Emphyrio | 24 April 2008 at 10:27 AM