Taxi Driver Online

https://europe.autonews.com/automakers/ ... 40-jobs-uk

I know they’re owned by Geely but if the venture isn’t profitable for them, who knows ?

LEVC: Coventry taxi-maker announces 140 job cuts

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-c ... e-63457997

About 140 jobs are set to go at the London Electric Vehicle Company (LEVC), in Coventry.

The firm said, like other automotive firms, it had been severely affected by the Covid-19 pandemic and would be looking for voluntary redundancies.

The move forms part of a package of measures to improve cash flow.

LEVC developed London's first electric black cab, with more than 4,400 vehicles now on the capital's streets.

It said a disruption to supply chains during the pandemic and "significant global economic challenges" meant there was a need to restructure the business.

The London Taxi Company, since renamed LEVC, faced administration in 2013 before China's Zhejing Geely Holding Group stepped in to rescue the firm.

It opened a £300m plant in Ansty in 2017, creating more than 1,000 jobs.

Positive future

Prof David Bailey, of Birmingham Business School at the University of Birmingham, said the move was a "great shame".

"The future looks positive, but right now its is pretty tough," he said.

"Longer term the future is electric for cars, taxis and vans."

West Midlands Mayor Andy Street described the announcement as "incredibly sad".

"It is a brilliant West Midlands brand producing green, clean taxis worldwide - it is iconic what is being done there," he said.

"If it [job cuts] is part of the way [the company] can become more successful for the long term, sometimes it has to be done."

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IDFIMH

The cars are just too expensive, other than maybe for the golden streets of London.

We have one in B&H that's owned by a millionaire PH operator, and that's it out of several hundred WAVs.

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IDFIMH

I think the taxi was a sort of ‘loss leader’ and they then thought the van and maybe other derivatives would make them the money. The van was two years late to market (not all down to covid) and is way too expensive at £49,000 with incentives.
If they do stop making the taxi, what happens to all the councils forcing drivers down the electric route (WAV, Hackney) ?

At the moment the market is a little tough so the obvious next move is close down the uk factory and move production back to china


the vehicles will still be on the market BUT made in China.

The real shame here is this blind faith by governments around the world that going electric will save the planet. It won't; the best way forward is to reduce emissions by making less polluting vehicle engines such as LPG and simultaneously investing in these carbon sequestration projects the tech is there but governments are relying on private investment and funding so they are all too small a scale at the moment

we just need to better balance CO2 emissions with CO2 absorption by nature and carbon capture and storage as well as limiting population growth that above all else is driving the CO2 emissions

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lack of modern legislation is the iceberg sinking the titanic of the transport sector

Going into lockdown, this was a headline:


LEVC to create 100 new jobs to meet growing demand

https://zenoot.com/2020/02/21/levc-to-c ... ng-demand/

The London EV Company (LEVC) is set to create more than 100 new jobs at its headquarters in Ansty, near Coventry.

Building on a record year in 2019 – with more than 2,500 units of its taxi sold – LEVC is forecasting a 50% increase in demand for 2020.



Post lockdown, this is how Bloomberg reported the latest news:


London Taxi Maker to Cut 140 Workers After Covid Hits Demand



Unfortunately, the Bloomberg article doesn't actually go into the demand angle, and just rehashes the stuff about efficiencies and supply chain disruption.

But with the market out of lockdown, and all the LEZ stuff, you'd have thought there would be plenty of demand for new electric taxis.

But, of course, as Sussex says drivers just aren't willing to invest in a new £70k cab, and presumably the second hand market is limited. And that's exacerbated by the aging workforce that's left in the trade.

And I'm increasingly convinced the likes of Glasgow councillors aren't in the least bit bothered if hundreds of HCs disappear from the streets next year. I suspect they'll actually relish that, and it's all not so much about updating the fleet as getting rid of as many of them as they think they can get away with.

there probably is but Geely will be eying up moving production to a lower cost country

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lack of modern legislation is the iceberg sinking the titanic of the transport sector