by patpending Mon Oct 07, 2013 7:42 am
This from the Coventry (Evening?) Telegraph. Production only restarted a few weeks ago. They are making 50 a week. It's the same release without the editing. Bet the London Taxi Company don't produce PDFs!
Coventry's iconic cabs are taking a trip Down Under – but the famous black taxi has been given a dramatic makeover.
Almost a hundred WHITE cabs will be driving through the streets of Perth within the next three weeks as part of a new trial.
And the instantly recognisable white TX4s are already causing a stir, say bosses at the city’s London Taxi Company – who say the response has been ‘phenomenal’.
The test sample of 98 used factory demonstrator ‘hot-climate’ vehicles are in Australia to test whether any modifications should be made to the cabs, ahead of the full roll-out next year of a further 200 cabs.
The order comes just weeks after production restarted at the Holyhead Road factory – six months after the firm was rescued by its new Chinese owners Geely Group.
Since buying the company in February for £11.4million, the new owners have made a significant investment in the business and announced plans to target overseas trade. The deal with Australia follows a run of contract wins in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
Chief executive of The London Taxi Company in Australia, Evan Simeon, said: “The response has been phenomenal. We couldn’t have asked for a better welcome.
“One Perth operator who purchased a fleet of 50 white used TX4s has already had a stampede of drivers who want to be the first ones to buy a cab.
“We’ve had a lot of positive interest from ex-pats, both prospective customers and drivers; what has been especially gratifying are the offers from ex-pat London Taxi drivers who not only want to buy one, but have also offered to train Australian drivers.”
With the additional order for 200 vehicles for Perth Mr Simeon hopes the State of Victoria may well be the next destination to welcome the global icon in 2014.
“The majority of existing taxis are converted sedans which were not built to be cabs and therefore they are not fit for the purpose,” he added. “The beauty of the London Taxi TX4 is that it is the only global vehicle built to be as a cab, so we anticipate that they will be a lot of demand for it in Australia.”
The TX4s will be kitted out with feedback books for drivers, whilst passengers will be encouraged to visit a website to give the distributor and the Perth Department of Transport their views on the cab.
This feedback will be used for engineering changes to suit Australian conditions and customer requests.
International sales director Matthew Cheyne said: “This is an exciting new market for us and it’s just the beginning. We will continue to work closely with Evan to deliver the London Taxi into Australia.
“Australia currently has a driver training programme, however Evan informs us that he has already had commitment from government officials that they are now seeking to implement a more robust course, similar to ‘the knowledge’ that London taxi drivers undertake.
“We will continue to support him as it is integral to the entire proposition – a TX4 is nothing without a professional driver behind the wheel. Together they provide an iconic service, and that’s exactly what we sell worldwide.”
“Sales have never been so good. We’re currently manufacturing vehicles for Saudi Arabia and UAE, and we are expecting orders from Azerbaijan which already has 1,000 TX4s in situ.”
The London Taxi Company, which was previously known as LTI, collapsed into administration in October last year – a week after the firm was forced to recall 400 cabs due to a steering box fault.
Geely bought parent company Manganese Bronze, which had been making black cabs since 1948, out of administration.
Since production restarted a few weeks ago workers are producing around ten cabs a day, five days a week – with the aim of selling almost 2,000 vehicles in the first year.
