LEVC (London Electric Vehicle Company) begins a new chapter by announcing its brand direction for the coming decade. Software could become more important here – the taxi will remain, but you won’t read anything about the VN5 van anymore.
Change of strategy at LEVC. With a new strategy, the British Geely subsidiary wants to become a “leading company for carbon-free mobility technology”. To do this, they no longer just want to produce taxis, but offer nothing less than an “intelligent, environmentally friendly, safe and accessible mobility solution for a wider audience than ever before”. How this should look in concrete terms, however, cannot be inferred from the communication. After all, the British heritage remains – LEVC has been around for over
70 years ago the iconic London cab, which was joined by the Van VN5 in 2020, but which did not hit the market as expected, because: the VN5 also scores with iconic looks and range thanks to the range extender, but it is comparatively expensive. Most recently, in June 2022, a “package” of 60 units was sold to Pod Point, a charging point operator in the UK, which was fitted with Sortimo interior fittings.
The management team was also reorganized with the strategy: Alex Nan remains Global CEO and will now also assume the role of UK CEO for LEVC. He is responsible for overall business strategy, technology, product planning and coordination with the Geely Holding Group. Chris Allen, who has been appointed Managing Director of LEVC after previously serving as Legal Director and Company Secretary, will be responsible for procurement, manufacturing, technology and quality, government affairs and mobility services. Jenny Jin has also been appointed Executive Director responsible for Sales, Marketing and Aftersales. Moe Wang, General Manager of LEVC Overseas, will also assume responsibility as Director of Overseas Sales for LEVC UK. After all, Nan explains:
“Since the launch of the TX in 2018, LEVC has experienced rapid growth: to date, 9,000 vehicles have been sold worldwide, have driven more than 500 million miles and prevented the emission of 152,000 tons of CO2 into the atmosphere. In London, LEVC’s TX has an 82% share of the taxi market and there are now more TXs on the roads than diesel-powered TX4s. LEVC looks forward to continuing to support the capital in accelerating the transition to a clean, eco-friendly EV taxi fleet.”
Production Will Remain in The UK For The Time Being
“Our state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Ansty, Coventry will continue to be the home of the famous, iconic TX taxi – London’s Black Cab and new generation models. We will build on LEVC’s unparalleled heritage and grow beyond manufacturing high-end taxis to bring smart, green, safe and accessible mobility to more customers than ever before.”
When the VN5 van was presented, it was already hinted that purely electric vehicles would be built in the future. It remains to be seen whether the current platform will be modified for this purpose – which is very unique to the Geely Group, or whether it will be based on a Geely e-platform. According to Nan, sales are planned to increase by 20% in 2023 compared to the previous year. Further details on LEVC’s strategy are expected to be announced in the first quarter.
What Does That Mean?
The LEVC VN5 van did not hit the ground running as planned: despite the enormous amount of advertising and the rapid development of a dealer network, the VN5 van remains rare and mainland Europe also has difficulties with taxis. Which is why the announced camper has not been seen as big either. Because LEVC designs its vehicles for durability, but that costs money. But 9000 vehicles in four years are not enough even in the niche, which is why one can be curious about the future strategy. After all: cult optics made in the UK remain, which is a bold and strong signal from Geely.
This article is originally published on vision-mobility.de
