Venice has its gondolas, Amsterdam has its bicycles, London has its own taxis ! The famous “black taxi” roamed the British capital for decades, until today it has become an indestructible symbol, represented everywhere and known all over the world. If known LTI (for London Taxis International) has a long established partnership with the manufacturer Austinhaving given birth FX3 and FX4 – undoubtedly the most famous taxi in the world – it has been owned by a Chinese group for several years Geelywho put his paw in and slightly altered the original DNA” historic black cabs. After an equal joint venture since 2010, Geely increased its stake in 2013: a Chinese group now has full control of a well-known British taxi companywhich changed its name to LEVC in 2017 (for London Electric Vehicle Company).

For taxis, minivans!

Since then it has been launched a completely new model of electric taxi, which almost completely replaced the aging TX4 diesel in London: TX. You may have already met this model in France: Geely offers it to the capital via Cao Cao, the service of passenger cars with a driver (VTC). In short, here are some pieces of context that allow us to better understand where LEVC came from and how a small independent bodybuilder from Coventry became an integrated subsidiary of one of the largest Chinese automobile groups!

Apart from taxis, Geely has other projects for LEVC, which enjoys a good reputation in the UK. The brand has just announced will soon release a large electric minivan in the country: the L380. These large models are multiplying in Europe, especially among Chinese brands (Maxus, Denza, XPeng, GAC, Voyah) and we know that the English love these big modelsmany of which are imported from Japan (Nissan Elgrand, Toyota Noah, Honda Odyssey, Mitsubishi Delica, etc.).

Hardly for France

The L380 is a 5.30m long behemoth able to accommodate up to 8 passengersfor four rows of seats! Its name is a reference to the Airbus A380, from which its design and aerodynamics would be inspired. After all, Renault compared their 1984 Espace to the TGV! It is based on the new SOA platform from the Geely Group and includes a battery, the capacity (and thus the autonomy) is still unknown. Under the hood, its single electric motor develops 272 horsepowerthe maximum speed is electronically limited to 170 km/h.

Made in China since 2024, this new LEVC L380 will be distributed in UK and China. It is hard to believe that it will be sold in France, the LEVC brand does not have the same aura and symbolism for us as it does for the British. Especially since Geely already sells several brands in its galaxy: Volvo, Lynk&Co, Lotus, and soon Polestar and Zeekr… If, and only if, this L380 was sold in France, it’s much more likely to be rebadged under one of these brands…

Read also:

Zeekr 001 (2022): The start of production for the filming of the Chinese station wagon

Poland chooses the Chinese for its electrification

Arcfox Alpha S (2021): Huawei presents its first electric car