Meeting the air quality challenge
Air pollution in cities affects our quality of life. More worryingly, it causes health problems for the most vulnerable people in society. It shortens the lives of over 70,000 people a year in Europe alone.
National and city governments around the world have started to take charge of poor air quality by encouraging people to drive electric vehicles, or limit where diesel and petrol vehicles can be driven.
Our new electric taxi has been designed to help solve these issues by providing a more sustainable mode of urban transportation. The new electric taxi will be able to travel impressive distances with zero emissions but also contains a small range extender to alleviate any ‘range anxiety’ for drivers and passengers on longer journeys outside city centres. It’s the perfect solution for urban commercial operators that face demanding and unpredictable duty cycles.
Our new electric taxi will not only meet the strict regulations set by cities today, but will comply with future rules in London and around the world. And it will do all of this without compromising any of the aspects of today’s taxi that make it world-renowned: the 25 foot turning circle, the accessibility for wheelchair users, the famous design that symbolises safe and trustworthy travel, and the interior space now with a sixth passenger seat.
All of this combined with several new additions will vastly increase driver and passenger comfort.
Support for taxi drivers
While the move to electric vehicles brings huge benefits and opportunities, we recognise the change for taxi drivers. That’s why we’ve been working with governments to create comprehensive support packages. Last week, at the opening of our new facility dedicated solely to the production of electric vehicles, the UK Government announced a further £64 million of investment to promote the use of electric taxis. This money will support drivers in two important ways:
1) A £50 million Plug-in Taxi Grant programme accessible throughout the UK. This will give taxi drivers up to £7,500 off the price of a new electric vehicle. Taxi drivers who switch to LTC’s new electric taxi will also benefit from significantly lower fuel costs.
2) £14 million of investment to deliver around 400 rapid and 150 fast chargepoints dedicated for electric taxis across 10 cities that bid for funding. These include: Birmingham; Coventry; London; Nottingham; Dundee; The West Yorkshire Combined Authority; Oxford; Cambridge; Wolverhampton; Slough.
This is just one example of how governments around the world are supporting the transition to electric taxis.
Purpose built solution
Legislators recognise how taxis represent their city to visitors and residents alike; there should be no compromise, they should all be the best they can be – professional, safe, accessible, and above all, electric. Only one taxi is built for purpose which meets these criteria, and we are working closely with cities all over the world to ensure drivers and passengers can experience this as soon as possible.
We do not take these steps simply to comply with regulations, but because we share the view of city mayors, national governments and citizens that air quality is one of the most significant challenges facing the world today. We’re proud to bring to market a purpose-built solution that will help eliminate city centre emissions and reduce running costs for drivers.
We will be revealing more details about the design and features of our new taxi shortly, here on this site.
How does someone apply for government grant?
Hi Andrew, Thank you for your interest. Final details of their scheme have not been revealed yet however if it is similar to other plug-in car grants this will all be handled at the point of sale, to minimise bureaucracy for drivers.
What is the range of the new taxi?
Hi Eddie, Thank you for your interest, that information has not yet been released. It will be shared through this site first so please continue to monitor the email updates.
This is great news!!! Well done!
What will be the cost of an electric taxi
Hi, we have not released that information yet but stay tuned and it will be shared with subscribers first. Thanks for the interest
A few points to ponder.
Firstly, we would love to embrace electric vehicles on our fleet. How ever the increase in price over a traditional taxi means that the subsidy is wiped out.
Secondly, The range has to be around 700 miles for it to be viable, as many of our taxis are double shifted. Meaning they don’t have time to sit around charging between shifts. The drivers will refuse as they will lose income. Finally range anxiety. A driver sometimes gets sent on a 200 mile journey, we need to make sure we don’t need to stop when a client is on board. If this happens 2/3rds of the way through his shift and he has 200 miles already and has to refuse a good job. It won’t go down too well.
Hi, thank you for your comments. The new taxi will feature a range extender to eliminate any range anxiety concerns as the engine serves as a back-up to recharge the battery to provide power to the electric motor.
First of all, the TX5 is a hybrid….not an electric vehicle. If you want an electric vehicle, wait on the next generation from the major manufacturers.
Sheffield not included in the list to recieve any grant assistance for driver or charging plug in system, do you know why?
Hi Ibrar, the taxi grant will be accessible throughout the UK. The chargepoint projects for taxis are going to all 10 cities that bid for funding in the Department for Transport’s recent Taxi Infrastructure competition.
When will it go on sale……
Thank you for your interest. The new taxi will go on sale initially in London in September 2017, and on sale worldwide in January 2018.
Is there a waiting list I could put my name on?
Hi Rebecca, thank you for your interest. Yes there is, please send your name and contact number to [email protected] and a member of our team will contact you shortly.
Why is the London taxi going on sale around the world?
Hi Claire, thank you for taking the time to post your question. There is various demand outside of London, and the UK, for a zero emission capable, high quality taxi that can offer a premium service – which is why the new taxi will be seen across major cities around the world in the very near future.
Thank you
Well done
Is the new vehicle fully designed yet? As a cab driver for over 30yrs there are features I would like included in the new vehicle
Hi, thank you for your interest. We’re always happy to hear the thoughts of our customers. Please feel free to send your suggestions to [email protected].
Well done for investing in the new hybrid technologies. It is welcome. But we need more than a subsidy to buy what will undoubtedly be the most expensive Taxi ever made for London. You will need to recoup your research and development costs and so I cannot see it going on sale for anything less than £50k plus whatever the value of grants may be. Bottom line is it’s too expensive for 90% of us. Trade is just not there to support the costs of purchase. No imaginative financing schemes over longer than 5 years have been muted. It will take us 8 to 10 years on an affordable plan.
Unless your price is much lower than most of us expect.
Hi There I just want to know how many miles can I drive with one full charge
Hi Mohammed, that information will be made available closer to launch. To be the first to find out please stay subscribed to our email updates.
how comfortable would it be for the driver ,if it is the same as the Tx4? Big turn off you rival Vito it will win for me most iporten it is the driver ,seating for long hours on those uncomfortable seats
Hi Saimir, the new electric taxi will feature a vastly improved driver environment, the driver seat in particular benefits from extensive ergonomic improvements. More details will be released closer to launch so please stay tuned for further updates from this website. Thanks for your interest.
Ive read all the latest emails you have sent us and im struggling to find anyone on the new design team that actually is a London Cab Driver ? have you asked the drivers what features we would like enhanced? a totally adjustable front drivers seat like the Recaro i had to buy separately (£600) when i bought my last brand new cab,which cost £42,000, also ultra quiet heating fans & indicator warning relays,heated front screen etc also a rear dimmable mirror which was available on a New Jeep Cherokee i bought 15 years ago,These features are all standard on vehicles demanding £55-60 k price tags. Also some murmurs on battery life and the leasing of them is running round the cabbies chat and the worries of future costs at the moment which you could alleviate by a short press release,thanks for the option to reply david harvey
Hi David, thank you for your interest in our new vehicle.
We recognise the importance of the cabin area for drivers which is why the all new electric taxi will feature our most driver-inspired cabin to date. Throughout the design process we consulted with drivers of our previous models, as well as those of the competition, to ensure considerations such as space, comfort, practicality and protection, were all fully understood and effectively incorporated into the new cockpit. Further details regarding the vastly improved driver environment – the vehicle battery, and the vehicle price – will all be shared closer to launch through our email updates.
Are there health risks associated with the electro magnetic field emitted from the battery and the long hours a driver will be exposed to them?
Secondly what type of battery will be fitted, phosphate, titanate etc and how many cycles are expected in the lifespan of the battery.
Lastly, for London, what have Tfl stated as to the age limit on the TX5 being that it will be very green?
Many thanks
Hi Steve, thanks for your questions.
It is widely accepted that electric vehicles pose no health risks as a result of any electro-magnetic fields. We are bathed in EMF on a daily basis from a multitude of sources – computers, cell phones, power lines, fluorescent lights, home wiring, radar, substations, transformers and appliances to name just a few. A wide variety of health problems have all been blamed on EMF, with some anecdotal evidence suggesting a possible link. However, despite research conducted over decades, there is no conclusive evidence to support this view. If you’d like to know more, one such study can be found here: http://www.sintef.no/projectweb/em-safety/ or you can read the US National Institute for Health report here: https://www.niehs.nih.gov/health/materials/electric_and_magnetic_fields_associated_with_the_use_of_electric_power_questions_and_answers_english_508.pdf
The battery will be based on Lithium Ion technology; a full vehicle technical specification will be released closer to launch through our email updates.
The current TfL age limit for licensed taxis is 15 years, and the new electric taxi has been designed with the rigorous taxi duty cycle in mind to ensure reliability and durability over its working life.
Hello, does TX5 already have an “Admission to the road” (license plate?) in the UK? And if yes, is this also applicable for other EU countries?
Hi, thank you for your question. Due to the vast amount of different licencing authorities and their stringent regulations, the new taxi will not be supplied with a license plate.
Each EU country and their regions will have their own trade/license plate that can be applied for that specific territory. For more information on UK licensing for the taxi trade please visit https://www.gov.uk/taxi-driver-licence/type-of-driving-licence