This may come as a shock to some of our readers who don’t pay a lot of attention to what happens over on TERF Island in the UK, but the latest black cabs seen all over London are built by a company that’s owned by Geely. Yes, the same Geely that also owns Volvo and Lotus. Geely also owns a lot of other companies, too, but the focus today is on the London Electric Vehicle Company. And more specifically, Geely’s plan to have LEVC expand significantly and build more than just taxis.
Reuters reports that the Chinese mega-corporation plans to invest heavily in LEVC and turn it into “a high-volume, all-electric brand with a range of commercial and passenger vehicles.” It also reportedly wants to invest more in developing technology that will allow LEVC to offer more personalised services to owners. Which sounds like Geely plans to collect a whole lot of customer data.
“We need a developed product portfolio. We need to make big investments in terms of the technology and infrastructure,” LEVC Chief Executive Alex Nan told Reuters. “Geely will make consistent investments into LEVC because this is a very unique project.”
As far as how much money Geely plans to invest in LEVC, what the future lineup will look like, and exactly when the first new LEVC vehicle will hit the road go, Geely has yet to say. Although executives did suggest that it could happen relatively quickly, at least when you consider LEVC currently only makes one vehicle. Allegedly, the biggest potential holdup is charging infrastructure.
“There’s nothing we couldn’t deliver in a very short time period if we needed to, but it’s just a question of timing,” said LEVC managing director Chris Allen. “But in two years’ time, is the industry going to be ready? Is the charging infrastructure going to be there? Is consumer confidence going to be there?” That remains to be seen. But if you’ve been wishing for a while that you could own a car built by the company that makes black cabs, then you could soon be in luck. All four of you.