Buffett-backed BYD behind first all-electric London cab fleet
Warren Buffett-backed Chinese carmaker BYD will launch London’s first ever all-electric taxi fleet on Tuesday, pulling ahead of global rivals such as Nissan in the race to roll out zero emission cabs by 2018.
BYD’s move into London transport comes ahead of a 2018 deadline set by Mayor Boris Johnson for all of the city’s taxis to be zero-emission, which has sparked a battle between manufacturers to develop green vehicles.
The Chinese manufacturer, 9.9 per cent owned by Mr Buffett, will initially launch a fleet of 20 electric cars operated by Thriev, a taxi company, less than two months after supplying the first-ever fully-electric buses to the capital.
“Londoners are typically early adopters to new technology . . . and we are very happy to be first and beat the deadline by a few years. This is where the electric vehicle technology will shine,” Isbrand Ho, managing director of BYD Europe told the Financial Times.
“Look at Boris, he rides a bike to work,” said Mr Ho. “London is at the forefront of zero emission. It is doing the right thing.”
Nissan, the world’s most successful electric car manufacturer, and the London Taxi Company (LTC), which builds the iconic ‘black cab’, are both developing fully-electric models ahead of the 2018 deadline.
Mr Johnsons’ office says taxis account for more than a third of all the exhaust emissions in the city, and the major’s push for zero-emission cabs comes as part of a wider drive by the British government to make the country a major market for electric vehicles.
BYD is also in talks with potential manufacturing partners to start building the electric e6 models in the UK, Mr Ho said, and is in advanced talks with other taxi companies to bring more of their electric vehicles to London.
For the past four decades, a consortium that became part of engineer Manganese Bronze and is now known as LTC manufactured the archetypal FX4 London cab, with its oversized front grille, long, high bonnet and roomy back seat.
But LTC, now owned by Chinese carmaker Geely, finds its market-dominance under pressure from Mercedes-Benz’s Vito vans, Nissan’s entry into the market, and other, zero-emission vehicles from manufacturers such as Metrocab – part of the Frazer-Nash group of companies.
The BYD taxis, available to hire through a phone application similar to those used by companies such as Hailo and Uber, have a driving range of 186 miles and will use a network of battery chargers installed across London by British Gas to refuel.
The company has fleets of electric taxis across China, and in Colombia and Hong Kong, and is in talks to launch a new fleet in Singapore, Mr Ho said.