London's Famed Black Cabs to go Electric in 2018

London’s iconic black cabs are about to go green … sorta. An electric version of the British taxis will debut in Amsterdam next year, and by the end of the decade, the Chinese-owned London Taxi Company (LTC) hopes to sell about 50% of its black cabs to foreign markets. Rule … Britannia?

The rebranded manufacturer – dubbed the London EV Company – will produce an electric hybrid that gets about 70 miles on pure electric before a petrol engine takes over for another 400 miles or so.

And the target market, the Netherlands, was apparently chosen for its enlightened attitude towards alternative energy. "It is a city that is very progressive in terms of protecting and improving its air quality," noted LTC Chief Executive Chris Gubbey.

But the switch to electric is more pragmatic than progressive for the Coventry-based manufacturer (a subsidiary of Chinese automaker Geely). If the London EV Company has any hope of hawking its wares at home, it must abide by “Transport for London” rules, which stipulate that all new black cabs must be electric or produce zero emissions by January 1 of next year. And as The Guardian points out, the new guidelines also set a hard 15-year lifetime for all cabs.

And the new venture is great news for the home crowd, which could provide batteries for the “TX” hybrid cabs, sourced from the $386 million electric car plant opened in Coventry earlier this year. This plant, mind you, was the first vehicle manufacturing facility built in Britain in more than 10 years.

Of course, the TX hybrid cabs come with a certain amount of trepidation – £50,000 (or $64,405), to be exact. While London EV claims the new cabs will save drivers about £100 ($129) per week in operating costs, it’s still a hefty investment. Traditional diesel cabs can be had from £2,000-30,000 used ($2,600-38,600), and the TX will also compete with Mercedes Benz’s £47,000 London Vito Taxi.

And while there should be 80 dedicated electric vehicle charging spots by the time the TX is unveiled (with 300 by 2020), drivers might, at least initially, face a certain logistics problem.

225 TX hybrid vehicles will be delivered to Dutch taxi firm RMC in 2018.