Azerbaijan receives 100 red electric cabs from LEVC
The London EV Company (LEVC), part of the Chinese Geely Group, has sold over 4,000 of its e-taxis with range extender since the model was launched at the beginning of 2018. Now 100 units have been delivered to Azerbaijan.
The Baku Taxi Service will operate the range-extended e-taxis in the country’s capital and had the iconic black cab model painted red for them to stand out. The service is a government-backed taxi operation, and LEVC considers Azerbaijan “a long-term supporter”. The country had previously purchased a large fleet of purple TX4s.
Now the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, has chosen to use the new electric TX model “as the city’s premium transport solution”, says LEVC in the press release. This means the 100 electric cabs will chauffeur visitors to events and expos held in Baku and will be used as VIP hotel and airport shuttles as well.
The Geely-owned company from Coventry considers this latest order part of the planned growth strategy “to increase our export business volume to 60% of total sales by 2022”, commented Joerg Hofmann, LEVC CEO.
The company claims to have sold 4,000 hybrid-electric vehicles globally since the TX EV launch in early 2018. Most of these electric taxis can be found in London, where regulation is forcing cabbies to electrify gradually. Drivers and fleet owners benefit from the cars turning circle and an electric powertrain that delivers 80 miles (130km) of pure electric range with a total range of 377 miles (600km) due to the on-board range-extender.
LEVC’s range will grow further this year with the so-far delayed launch of a new electric van now expected in Q4, which shares the same technology as the TX. The company also recently launched the TX Shuttle model, which is focused on the ride-sharing and taxi markets across Europe.
LEVC aims to be operating in 20 countries by the end of the year and is forecasting a 50% increase in sales in 2020 as reported.
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