Geely-owned London Electric Vehicle Company (LEVC) will bring its electric taxi with range extender to Paris. A permit for the black cab has now been granted by the Paris authorities. The French capital is expected to receive the model called TX in the first half of 2019.
Read more
London’s newest electric taxi will be driving using a brand new GKN Driveline technology. The eAxle system will be installed in the LEVC (London Electric Vehicle Company) taxis.
Read more
British Geely subsidy LEVC (London EV Company) wants to produce and offer its electrified London Taxis with range extender in the People’s Republic, too. Market launch is scheduled for 2019.
Read more- ADVERTISEMENT -
London Taxi Company opens UK plant: 20,000 electric cabs with range extender can now be produced every year in Ansty close to Coventry. There, the London Taxi Company opened its facility for the TX5 with 300m pounds from its Chinese backers Geely. The new electric model replaces the legendary black cab, FX4 whose design dates back to 1958. The electric taxi will go on sale this autumn in Great Britain, with the first market being London, where all new cabs must be zero emission capable by the start of 2018. European distribution may begin early next year and the firm hopes to appeal to cities worried about pollution and with an eye for icons.
autocar.co.uk, businessgreen.com
Made for municipalities: Electric van ELI has been designed for municipalities in Austria by local SFL Technologies and is now in serial production. For the start, 1,000 electric vans will be made a year but capacity is to double by 2019. Rather than for sale, ELI is for hire and will be rented out to municipalities as part of a service package with a monthly starting fee of 1,1250 euros before federal incentives that decrease the price to 835 euros. ELI has a range of up to 110 km and can carry 980 kg. Plus, it adapts to various tasks like transport or snow ploughing.
electrive.net (in German)
EQC will be the name of Mercedes’ first model under the EQ label. It can be expected by 2019, the MB Passion blog reports, quoting the in-house Mercedes Benz magazine.
mercedes-benz-passion.com (in German)
— Text Ad —
The Battery Show – Europe’s trade fair for automotive battery manufacturing and design opens in Sindelfingen, Germany, 4-6 April 2017. Source cutting-edge materials, equipment and components from 200 exhibitors and network with 3,000 attendees from OEMs and tier 1, 2 and 3 suppliers. Register for a free expo pass.
A new round of referrals has begun at Tesla and this time the programme includes invitations to the Model 3 “Delivery Event,” Gigafactory and SpaceX tours as well as a Tesla Model S and X, a special edition Powerwall and a Model S for kids. The scheme ends on June, 15.
insideevs.com
Searching for synergies: Mitsubishi has delayed the new Outlander by a year as it moved the launch to 2020. The company claims the search for synergies with Nissan as the reason and engineers are now looking into sharing components and architecture between the companies.
autonews.com
Unwell: LeEco co-founder and China and Asia-Pacific chief executive for the company’s EV division has resigned, citing health reasons. Already last December, Ding had stepped back from his post as Faraday Future CEO. He will remain a strategic advisor for the company’s ecosystem research centre.
scmp.com
BMW i5 plot thickens: BMW CEO Harald Krüger announced a new model joining the ranks of the electric i-series “soon,” as he spoke to German weekly Zeit. It will be bigger than the i3 and has been spoken of as i5 previously. Furthermore, the i3 will come with longer range next year.
handelsblatt.com (in German)
Aston Martin RapidE: The British carmaker officially unveiled a prototype of its adumbrated electric sedan. Already by 2017, the RapidE Concept could launch boasting 735 kW, especially with the help of investor ChinaEquity. Even Chinese president Xi Jinping graced the electric revelation.
autoexpress.co.uk, europe-autonews.com (ChinaEquity), youtube.com
Fall from grace? Consumer Reports used to be one of Tesla’s biggest supporters. Yet, it has taken back its unreserved recommendation following a survey among 1,400 Model S drivers, who said reliability does not match performance. Nonetheless, 97 percent of all buyers would buy a Tesla again.
consumerreports.org, forbes.com
— Text Ad —
The United States is Partner Country at HANNOVER MESSE 2016. Use this one-time chance to present your company at the world’s largest event for energy technologies. www.hannovermesse.de
Electrified black cab: London Taxi Company of Coventry has revealed its TX5 plug-in hybrid. As the company is owned by Chinese Geely, president Xi Jinping stopped by for the presentation. Set for launch in 2017, Geely plans to produce around 36,000 units, also for export (we reported).
autocar.co.uk
Double recall: BMW is asking 923 i3 in the USA to return to the garage due to possibly faulty passenger airbags that will be replaced. At the same time, Toyota recalls 6.5 million cars worldwide, among them also models which are offered as hybrids, as it needs to fix a defect in the power window switch.
bmwblog.com, autoblog.com (BMW), auto-motor-sport.de, reuters.com (Toyota)
Has Apple played a part in the end of Mission Motorcycles? Potentially yes, although indirectly, Reuters suggests. Before bankruptcy, quite a few top engineers had left the electric motorbike builder for Apple. Mission Motorcycles had to give up last month (we reported).
reuters.com
It is official, Rolls-Royce will build a luxury SUV, following customer demand. A launch in 2017 is likely, as is a plug-in hybrid variant, Auto Express reports. The portal expects prices to start at 250,000 GBP (385,000 dollars) – it is a Royce after all.
autoexpress.co.uk
Berlingo Electric facelift: Citroën has issued pictures showing the new Berlingo which is to debut at the Geneva Motor Show. The new model will again be offered with an electric drive, that powers the mini van with 49 kW. Range is out at about 106 miles.
carscoops.com, worldcarfans.com
The electric cab for London is to go-ahead as the London Taxi Company will build a 300-million-dollar facility close to Coventry. The Geely subsidiary plans to launch an all-electric cab by 2018 and will also host R&D and sales at the British site.
china.org.cn, shanghaidaily.com
Ford to cut prices: Both the Fusion Hybrid und Fusion Energi plug-in hybrid will become 900 dollars cheaper once the model year 2016 starts. New prices are set at 25,675 dollars for the Fusion Hybrid S and 33,900 dollars for the Fusion Energi SE Luxury.
carsdirect.com, hybridcars.com
Spy shots: Chrysler’s new Town & Country Minivan, which is to come as a plug-in hybrid as well, has been spotted heavily camouflaged. Also, another PHEV has been caught on camera, the BYD Yuan.
autoblog.com (Chrysler), carnewschina.com (BYD)
Formula E double-header: The London race of the all-electric FIA Formula E Championship has received planning approval to be held within the grounds of Battersea Park. The final in London will see not one but two races (June, 27 & 28). Hence, the Formula E season now includes eleven dates.
electricautosport.com, fiaformulae.com
- ADVERTISEMENT -
