Zero Emission – Vehicle options for black taxis
CategoriesBlack Cab
So in our last blog we established that the amount of funding available for zero-emission black taxis is still to be confirmed. One thing is clear though, from 1 January 2018 no more new diesel taxis will be licensed.
But for any driver wanting to upgrade to a new vehicle after the zero emission capable deadline passes what will their options be? In their latest update on the TfL website the regulator states –“Three manufacturers are developing zero emission capable taxis, with the first vehicles expected to be available for purchase in mid-2017”
Metrocab
No new information has been released since last summer so the NewMetroCab.com website is clearly out of date. Worryingly for those hoping to have options to select from it states they’re still looking for a factory. However, after a 7 month gap the @MateroCab twitter feed did resurface this with a picture of the vehicle on display at the Barcelona motor show.

The London Taxi Company
The LTC, owned by Chinese company Geely, is set to launch its TX5 model towards the end of 2017. After a fairly long period of silence it was announced that an additional £50 million of funding will be invested in the firm’s Coventry based facility. This amount tops up the original £250 million that the manufacturer pledged for the development. CEO Chris Gubby states that most of the engineering development of the TX5 is complete. All that remains is fine tuning the vehicle ready for production. It will be fitted with a plug-in power train along with a three cylinder petrol engine. The battery and electric motors will produce a pure-EV range of over 70 miles. Design Director of Geely, David Ancona is confident that the TX5 will be priced as per the current model when government subsidies are taken into account. Although it attempts to maintain the iconic TX looks the vehicle will not be exclusive to the UK. Geely’s plans include rolling it out across European cities and using it as the basis for producing an electric van.Mercedes
There’s not been a great deal of detail online about any plans Mercedes have for an electric plugin version of the Vito taxi. However the German company have just revealed at the Geneva Motor Show their new concept V-ision e model. The Vision e promises a hybrid engine that delivers, ” 333 hp and a system torque of up to 600 Newton metres” and “standard consumption of under three litres of fuel per 100 kilometres.” The purely electric range is up to fifty kilometres and 0-60 mph in 6.1 seconds. They have longed offered an electric van and plugin hybrid E and S class models. So logic dictates that transferring the tech over to a black taxi should be fairly straight forward and reliable.Nissan EV200
This project was postponed indefinitely due to the manufacturers inability to hit the 0 emission requirements. Despite its emissions being considerably less than current eligible vehicles it couldn’t meet the regulator’s targets. The ultra modern exterior was also controversial. Not too many cabbies would have been crying over the news judging by their initial reaction to the design.