LEVC TXe Electric Taxi - First Impressions

[@michaelgoode4104]

Having recently seen this video I immediately recognised one of these in the rank at the hospital whilst going to collect the father in law. When we came out it was first in line and we dived in. Ours was a 25 mile journey and it was so good. Even better when he burned an Audi off from the lights. EV's are not only much quieter but the ICE constant vibration is clearly absent too making it really pleasant. I couldn't help myself chatting to the driver. He got his over three months ago and is saving over £100 A week on fuel. Fabulous experience. Definitely the future.

[@David-qs5ii]

We rode in one of these last weekend. It’s smooth, quiet and comfortable - a revelation!

[@Jamesandkate]

David Green completed agree, it’s lovely 😊

[@bobbye8071]

Great video guys i chap from my club was testing this as part of his job prior to it coming on the market. Great to see it after all he said about it.

[@AndrewGoodladIchorus]

Wow, I had no idea it had all the charging options. That’s incredible and will mean a cabbie might never have to queue. :-)

[@Jamesandkate]

Andrew Goodlad certainly makes it more usable 👍🏻

[@bluebikerathar]

Therefore i was under the expression it was a full BEV. So this cab is rather BEV with ranger extender ( I3 rex?)

[@MarkGaudie]

Hightop camper conversion of this or even a pop roof version would be so so cool!

[@williamarmstrong7199]

I watched this while charging my Phev taxi. Great show and very interesting.

[@Jamesandkate]

william armstrong glad you enjoyed it 👍🏻

[@williamarmstrong7199]

@@Jamesandkate sharing it on a taxi group we have locally. ;)

[@robsmith1a]

I can't wait to go in one. I usually walk when I am in London but if I see one for hire I will be tempted.

[@ShesElectric]

Great video guys. Can’t wait to see more of these on our roads!

[@Jamesandkate]

She_s Electric thanks El 🙏🏼

[@fineartz99]

Presciently definitive advantages. // Ideally purposeful with obvious advantageousness. // Thank you Dan for sharing your notable experiences.

[@Jamesandkate]

Daniel Murray I expect these will simply get better over each revision until ultimately it ends up as a full BEV

[@fineartz99]

+James and Kate --Very professional content and presentation. I appreciate your directed reply. // Anticipate even greater popularity and acclaim for your great works. // Interesting choice of words: I trust all "Ends Up," as _"top-side up."_

[@tomberney8459]

Love the smile as he remembers his test drive, I too have that smile when I think of my test drive.

[@jur4x]

Those charging options... Wow!

[@cjmillsnun]

Agreed. Although I would say that is essential for a taxi. You need to be able to charge and not worry about which standard you want to use.

[@MrHairyTeabag]

Double thumbs up - these things should be mandatory!

[@Jamesandkate]

MrHairyTeabag completely agree 👍🏻

[@bobbiecurran3380]

All the rapid charger options. Fantastic

[@Jamesandkate]

Bobbie Curran somebody else said this should be industry standard, completely agree 👍🏻

[@thesmallrougeone]

I think we'll see a lot more of these when the clean air zones are rolled out across the UK.

[@Jamesandkate]

thesmallrougeone hopefully. They’re selling well currently 👍🏻

[@tomberney8459]

VOLVO are working on getting their dealerships geared up to service this vehicle worldwide. But still early days.

[@ishty777]

Not really they have over 500 outside their factory in ansty. Overpriced and job uncertainty is the root cause as well has new technology, no infrastructure for charging aaaand Uber in town. Most drivers I speak to are either retiring from the trade or jumping to Uber. 30 quid mot for the year and off you go.

[@tomberney8459]

Test drive on a Friday, purchased on Monday. This cab is the GOLD standard :)

[@Jamesandkate]

Tom Berney couldn’t agree more. From a driver prospective it puts the old TX range in the dark. From a customer prospective it’s like sitting in a Bentley 🙏🏼

[@tomberney8459]

Yeh deffo loads of people think it's Bentley amd who am I to tell them otherwise ;)

[@sneekylinux]

Super video guys, have been lucky enough to have been in one of these, a super upgrade from the old skool clunkers that i grew up with...

[@stevemccormack9948]

This car really floats my boat and can be a successful car worldwide. It has the famous iconic looks as well as great functionality. It would be loved as a taxi and in many cases it would sell as a private car I think. If, in the future, batteries come down in price they could double the battery size - say to a 200 mile range and do away with the gas engine altogether. In fact even if they went to a 150 mile range they could nearly go all-electric. Who doesn't love London Cabs.

[@ArranEye]

Another excellent video.

[@cps4144]

Another great vid thanks Kate. One thing I'd like to know though is will Volvo / Geely use the same set-up in "consumer" PHEVs ? It really grates that almost to a man all manufacturers think 20 - 30 miles on battery in a PHEV is sufficient. The new TXE does 80 miles plus on battery ! We need more battery range !

[@tomberney8459]

In reality batt. range is 40-50. Traffic lights and humps limit the range.

[@Jamesandkate]

Dan was saying he can realistically get 70 miles driven carefully and has access to lots of rapid chargers meaning a recharge is never too far away. If I could change anything, it probably would be the size of the range extender. I’m not so sure 1500cc is necessary.

[@tomberney8459]

I think the RE is using the cab as a test bed, from what I gathered on factory tour TX is the first vehicle to use it and VOLVO/LEVC plan on using it in future ranges of vehicle.

[@markfitzpatrick6692]

I really love all the charging options . That would be great on all ev’s .

[@charlesholland-keen2222]

I hadn't realised they had a range extender but can see the reasons why. I doubt the range extender gets much use given range of charging options available and the silent operation of the vehicle must be a boon to the driver too. Very impressive and definitely the cab to have. A polished presentation yet again Kate and a pleasure to watch.

[@Reason077]

I do sometimes hear their REx running when I pull up behind them on my bike in the afternoons. But still much, much better than having to breath the filth from a stinky diesel cab!

[@Jamesandkate]

We did manage to get the REx to fire up, albeit, briefly. It’s so much quieter than the diesel.

[@christopherwalton5528]

Great video as always! Apparently, Dundee has hit it's Clean Air Targets due to so many cabbies switching to EV or PHEV style vehicles...

[@Jamesandkate]

thats great news to hear!!! Dundee is simply a very forward thinking city. We call all learn plenty by following their lead.

[@ElectricMikeEV]

You guys were on my manor!!!!

[@Jamesandkate]

mike stevens thanks for having us 🙏🏼

[@christill]

I talked to a London cab driver about EVs. He stopped me while he was off duty when he saw me riding my ebike and he wanted to ask me about it. He was thinking about buying the same brand. From what he said, EVs could now do his total daily drive including his commute into London easily. It’s just a shame that this particular car doesn’t just have a long range EV battery instead of the range extended layout. Hopefully they can update this as soon as possible.

[@inkpen1999]

I guess that for the moment it has to be range extended so they don't get stranded mid-working day or have to turn down an airport journey when on a low-ish state of charge. Also some cabbies live a way out of London & may start the day with a 30 to 50 mile commute. Some cabbies also share a cab 2 or 3 ways & the cab works 24/7. I dare say that cheaper, bigger, faster charging batteries will make more sense within 5 years, or so, & make the range extender/phev obsolete. It does seem like a good start, though, & gives cabbies a BEV most of the time to get used to & want more range from.

[@Jamesandkate]

Yes I agree. But currently the fuel savings are impressive 👍🏻

[@clarksonbarry]

I fancy this as a car! Spacious - Quality British build - Big wheels ride comfort - Great driving position - Thin door pillars - Practical windscreen - Minimal service - Good turning circle - Nippy low end torque - Low depreciation? I love my Leaf, but 3 of these boxes I cannot tick!

[@Jamesandkate]

clarksonbarry you’re not the first person to say this 👍🏻

[@ericgraham7026]

It’s made by a subsidiary of the Chinese company, Geely and the petrol engine and other associated gear are Volvo!

[@bekkouchekamel1942]

But u don't know it has so may problems and the worst battery it has

[@SnazzBot]

I thought you were in a Land Rover at the end until it's zoomed out.

[@Jamesandkate]

SnazzBot it drives like a Range Rover sport, genuinely 👍🏻

[@forealg]

They also cause extremely high levels of radiation. But we will discuss this when the damage is done.

[@mkempton9740]

Be nice to see these showing up elsewhere like here in Canada.

[@tomberney8459]

Coming soon..... www.levc.com/corporate/levc-in-the-us/

[@Jamesandkate]

M Kempton I’m sure they’re testing over there currently

[@tomberney8459]

lol i forgot, there is a nice banana yellow paint option too, www.greencarguide.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Andy-Burnham-at-the-LowCVP-Moving-North-Conference-with-LEVC-Electric-Taxi.jpg I almost went for that colour, would certainly stand out on the rank. 5 seconds later I went for Alpine white :D

[@taipeiracer]

Wow, this would make a great limo even for home use. What's the electric range on these?

[@Levc81]

Lovely cabs, I'll be switching eventually 👍🏻

[@ram64man]

Any news about the city cab version or was the ltc the winner in court?

[@ElectraRC]

Thanks, that was a great video.

[@BlundenCrypto]

Very impressive cabin for both driver and passengers. So much better than the TX4. I agree with the others that the battery range needs to improve before it's widely adopted but hey you have to start somewhere. Just a note Kate.... I would edit out the part of the video with you driving. Only a licensed driver can drive a licensed vehicle so insurance would be void and possible PCN up to £1000.

[@mrquordlepleen]

The owners of the builder of the taxi is the Chinese company, Geely..hence the Volvo range extender; they are behind Volvo's resurgence as far as investment is concerned. The Chinese really are becoming the leaders in mass production EV development. Not the last word in 'fit n finish' quality but it all works, and works well. This cab gives a clue as to where 'EV's for everyone' is going. A great piece of kit.

[@iantrott9152]

Great video. Fantastic cab. It’s a shame there’s not a non-commercial version of this, it would be great for transporting my wheelchair & equipment :)

[@robinmobile845]

Tx1 is categorically the best taxi. Simple. Easy to use and adaptable to technology if you wanted it to be.

[@staceystory3695]

Nice we need this in US

[@waynehobbs5175]

Why no seat belt?

[@RWBHere]

Thanks Kate. Very nice, and we're looking forward to seeing them around here one day. Glad that they've done away with the 'Whinge' button! ;-D

[@dorsetengineering]

Buy one as a car if I could, like a GM voltec drivetrain (which we all know is the best range extender drivetrain out there) but on steroids..... Can't wait for the van to arrive.

[@tomberney8459]

You can. just not with gov. grant.

[@dorsetengineering]

@@tomberney8459 true, but they are a bit of a luxury at the current retail for personal use as a car

[@RZOCUK]

Awesome review as usual.. But cough cough only 22kw AC :P

[@Jamesandkate]

Renault Zoe & ZE Owners Club spec sheet says 43kW 😳

[@RZOCUK]

James and Kate it’s defo only 22kw lol... even the main site and Wiki says 22kw AC plus I spoke to the guy involved at the fully charged EVEC day even he said 22kw :P

[@robert5008]

They should look at making a left hand drive model for export.

[@tomberney8459]

They have, already in Holland and Germany... www.motoringresearch.com/car-news/mobility/london-taxi-launched-in-germany/

[@Jamesandkate]

They have already 👍🏻

[@robert5008]

Wow thank you guys for the response. Paint this cab bright yellow for US use and I believe it would be a hit here in the States. Thanks Kate for the video!

[@tomberney8459]

www.greencarguide.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Andy-Burnham-at-the-LowCVP-Moving-North-Conference-with-LEVC-Electric-Taxi.jpg

[@MrKeke2502]

What is 43kW AC and 7kW for your home though ?

[@cjmillsnun]

43kW AC is the rapid AC charging standard (not for your home) 7kW is for the home.

[@MrKeke2502]

@@cjmillsnun 43kW AC is 400V x 63amps on 3 phases. 7kW AC is 230V x 32amps on 1 phase. If the car can accept up to 43kW, why is it necessary to advertise that it can also charge at 7kW ?

[@bobbiecurran3380]

@@MrKeke2502 so everone can be sure it is suitable for home charging. Or the 7kw posts

[@MrKeke2502]

@@bobbiecurran3380 I've just search the info on their website and it seems like it is capable of 50kW DC and 22kW AC. Source : www.levc.com/technology/charging-tx/

[@MrKeke2502]

Source www.google.fr/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=www.levc.com/file/brochure/%3Fid%3D518&ved=2ahUKEwjM6vq62ZrdAhUK4YUKHUifDMwQFjABegQIBxAB&usg=AOvVaw3PFPJPernHnQN0oO4TKD_v

[@Neojhun]

WTF both CCS & CHAdeMO I wish private cars had that same capability.

[@JeanPierreWhite]

Yes. It would make a lot of sense. Even if was an optional extra, I'd pay for the flexibility.

[@cjmillsnun]

CCS, CHAdeMO and Rapid AC as well.

[@Neojhun]

Ehhh 7kw AC i would not consider as rapid. Level 2 AC can go up to 19kw.

[@Jamesandkate]

Neojhun the 7kW is for home charging. It will draw 43kW from and AC rapid and 50kW from both the CHAdeMO and CCS 👍🏻

[@bluebikerathar]

@@Jamesandkate why cant more manyfactors chose both? Kk pricewise more expensive but so much more convenient . im talking about AC 22 or 43 as most public chargers can deliver 22kw ( or just 11kw in worst case).

[@PlanetCypher_]

CHAdeMO and CCS rapid DC and 43kw, 7kw AC , wow

[@ram64man]

There’s a lot of xc40 inside

[@ChrisCollins01]

Wouldn’t it be nice if all electric cars had those charging options should one of the connections not work you can always use one of the others!

[@mkempton9740]

Yellow would look sharp! Mainstream Canada is probably 5 yrs behind UK and Europe for EV adoption. Hopefully we will start moving faster.

[@bendixon2898]

Goodonyah

[@shadowdarottweiler6253]

Good informative video but the sound was poor.

[@korrect1954]

I betcha fake taxi getting a model upgrade this year

[@iSuavemente]

ROLLS ROYCE, CULLINAN - In Black ⁉️

[@taxiwarrior]

Levc says battery range is 80 miles. Reality is it ranges from 65 in summer to 30 in winter. Levc, no thanks unless you improve its range

[@Jamesandkate]

I think lots depends on the driver, however, running this purely on petrol it has a far better mph than any of the previous diesels and far less pollution. More importantly, people prefer to travel in style and the old TX range doesn't offer any where near the new TXe level of refinement.

[@СергейПогосов-г4я]

Машина очень понравилась ! Молодцы, что и сделали красиво и высокотехнологично, и что оценили достойно, без всякой тупой болтовни .., но не понравилось, что видео сделали на разбитой дороге, и что вообще у вас есть разбитые дороги, как у коррупционных дураков или порабощенных рабов ..!

[@charles29cc]

Sort the taxi light out always looks on! Those low doors always hitting the floor! And battery life which is awful!

[@najibullahqarluq425]

Fkin 55000 pound is too much for this car 25 to 30 thousands is a reasonable price for this wheelbarrow

[@Blueskinedbeast]

Facts are its overpriced @£70k, not enough charging points, no good if you ive in a flat cos you cant get a charging point, front windows crack doors drop people being sacked cos of poor sales, cant be towed away, has to be put on a lorry no cabbie wants them, most driver that rent say they are crap! every one is holding out for the Nissan which comes out soon

[@Tom-iz4kc]

Worst episode of Fake Taxi ever ;)

[@azizbassman]

As a cabbie myself it dose look fantastic but too expensive for what it is the range it limited unfortunately let's see if the second generation is improved......with the shifts I do 5 days a week I would loose half a day if you add up the charging times I would need threw out the week I can not charge at home....so I wouldn't make much of a saving. With a/c running the meter the c/c machine hire light ect you're lucky if you get 40-50 miles of range.... they should have went hydrogen route in my opinion. It only takes around 10 mins to fill up and zero emissions.

[@craighamnett]

Charge it when you sleep. Plus there's a range extender that uses petrol. Hydrogen isn't a great option as you don't have a hydrogen filling station at home, nor anywhere near you.

[@azizbassman]

@@craighamnett TFL should have waited another year and got the infrastructure already first. I have seen cabbies waiting in a queue to charge their cabs because not enough has been installed yet.

[@Neojhun]

Aziz Mehmet Hydrogen Fuel Cell is really silly for a small commercial vehicle due to Cell Degredation & 0.08988 g/L H2 Density. On a bad day when demand is high and the H2 Station is not max pressure it could easily take 20minutes to get a decent fill-up. Cell Degradation is bad because a very small device has to concentrate all that Electric Generation work. It would be viable if the vehicle and FC system was massive multi tonne vehicle and not mission critical. But a Taxi is just the wrong use case for H2 FC.

[@Reason077]

The petrol range extender fills the gap today until there's enough fast chargers. In a year or two, hopefully that can be done away with and they can go fully electric. Either way, a vast improvement over diesel.

[@Jamesandkate]

We did discuss the finance options. The extra Dan pays he saves in fuel and has a much cleaner and newer cab to drive around in. I’m not too sure if they allow extended test drives but, if you were driving one, I’d take your cab preference to anything else for sure 👍🏻

[@bekkouchekamel1942]

The worst battery the have

[@MrHairyTeabag]

Does it use a ZOE motor in view of it having 43kW AC charging ability?