Electric London Black Taxi – the LEVC TX – costs £55,999 – but almost no one will buy it

The LEVC TX – the new Electric London Black Cab – has gone on sale with prices from £59,999 (after OLEV Grant) as London’s taxis go green.

What was the London Taxi Company is now the London EV Company (LEVC) after Volvo owners Geely snapped it up to turn it in to a maker of green commercial EVs.

Although there are plans to develop electric range-extender commercial vehicles, the headline act for LEVC is the new ‘Green’ London Black Cab – the LEVX TX – revealed last month.

The LEVC TX is a convincing 21st century take on the Black Cab, but powered by a 1.5 litre range-extender engine to charge the batteries when the plug-in charge has gone, and deliver an EV range of around 70 miles in a bid to make London’s air clean.

Now on sale, the entry-level TX costs an eye-watering £55,599 (even after the OLEV Grant), but it does promise to save Cabbies a few bob despite that, as well as clean up emissions.

With a standard spec including 9″ Touchscreen, Climate, Auto Lights and Wipers, DAB, Bluetooth, Parking Sensors, Panoramic roof and more, it promises to make the Cabbies job easier as well as greener.

But if the standard spec isn’t enough, Cabbies can opt for the Comfort version with stuff like Luxury Driver’s Seat and heated windscreen or the Comfort Plus which adds Sat Nav, Reversing Camera and Front Parking Sensors.

But although the headline price for the entry-level TX is steep (and the Comfort and Comfort Plus models add a few grand more), it’s the weekly costs that matter. And it seems the LEVC TX has that cracked.

Weekly leasing costs are £177 over a five-year period, just £10 a week more than the TX4, and with weekly fuel costs around £100 lower for the average Cabbie they should be quids in. And as less than 10 per cent of Cabbies actually buy their Taxis, the headline price is almost irrelevant.

LEVC Director Richard Gordon said:

I am delighted to announce such a competitive package for the new electric TX. Market leading in every way, this is a truly outstanding new vehicle that will revolutionise the taxi trade in London from an emissions perspective, for passenger comfort, experience and enjoyment, and importantly for the drivers.

It looks like the LEVX TX is a win-win, not just for Cabbies, but their fares and the air quality in London too.