Photo: Stefan Baldauf/SB-Medien
Previously known as the TX5, the LEVC TX is not your average black cab. It’s the latest model in a lineage that started in 1997 with the TX1, which replaced the Austin-developed FX4. And in addition to the modern looks, the TX also happens to be the greenest of hackney carriages thanks to Volvo plug-in hybrid technology.
The Geely-owned automaker, however, won’t be stopping here. No later than 2019, the London EV Company will pull the veils off a commecial vehicle based on the TX. And as you can tell from the first spy photographs of the damn thing, it clearly is boxy in shape.
“It certainly looks like some of the other panel vans available in Europe, though it appears to be roomier than the Renault Kangoo.” You’re spot on, dearest reader, more so if you bear in mind the height of the LEVC commercial vehicle or whatever it’ll be called.
The trial vehicle, however, borrows many of the exterior design elements from the TX PHEV, as well as the Volvo-sourced interior. A strict two-seater, the commercial vehicle combines Volvo’s 1.5-liter three-cylinder turbocharged engine with an electric drive unit and a 31-kWH lithium-ion battery.
Performance isn’t something to write home about, but bear in mind the drivetrain is geared toward fuel efficiency and eco-friendliness. The electric range of the plug-in hybrid LEVC LCV should be in the ballpark of 70 miles or so, after which the gasoline-fueled three-pot kicks in to save the day.
Just like the taxi, the commercial vehicle will be manufactured at the London EV Company’s facility in Ansty, a village located 5 miles northeast of Coventry city center. In the long run, the automaker expects to ramp up production at the Ansty plant to 36,000 vehicles per year. To turn the light commercial vehicle from test mule to series production, LEVC announced that it’s investing £25 million in addition to the £325 million that went into making the TX happen.
“This is going to be the future proofed ’white van’ that people have been waiting for. Designed solely for the urban commercial sector, dedicated to the people who keep our cities working, it will be clean, competitive and ready for cities of the future,” declared Chris Gubbey, CEO of the London Electric Vehicle Company.
“It certainly looks like some of the other panel vans available in Europe, though it appears to be roomier than the Renault Kangoo.” You’re spot on, dearest reader, more so if you bear in mind the height of the LEVC commercial vehicle or whatever it’ll be called.
The trial vehicle, however, borrows many of the exterior design elements from the TX PHEV, as well as the Volvo-sourced interior. A strict two-seater, the commercial vehicle combines Volvo’s 1.5-liter three-cylinder turbocharged engine with an electric drive unit and a 31-kWH lithium-ion battery.
Performance isn’t something to write home about, but bear in mind the drivetrain is geared toward fuel efficiency and eco-friendliness. The electric range of the plug-in hybrid LEVC LCV should be in the ballpark of 70 miles or so, after which the gasoline-fueled three-pot kicks in to save the day.
Just like the taxi, the commercial vehicle will be manufactured at the London EV Company’s facility in Ansty, a village located 5 miles northeast of Coventry city center. In the long run, the automaker expects to ramp up production at the Ansty plant to 36,000 vehicles per year. To turn the light commercial vehicle from test mule to series production, LEVC announced that it’s investing £25 million in addition to the £325 million that went into making the TX happen.
“This is going to be the future proofed ’white van’ that people have been waiting for. Designed solely for the urban commercial sector, dedicated to the people who keep our cities working, it will be clean, competitive and ready for cities of the future,” declared Chris Gubbey, CEO of the London Electric Vehicle Company.
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