London Electric Vehicle Co., a venerable U.K. maker of black taxis, rolled out a plug-in hybrid variant of its TX taxi in Tokyo as part of a global expansion under its Chinese owner, Zhejiang Geely Holding Group.
The plug-in hybrid TX will be imported and distributed in Japan by Fleetway and Service Co., a company based in the Japanese city of Yokohama, Geely said.
Order books for the vehicle will open in February with customer deliveries set to begin in the second quarter.
The plug-in hybrid, London Electric Vehicle’s first electrified model, can carry six passengers and drive up to 130 kilometers (81 miles) on lithium batteries only.
An onboard 1.5-liter gasoline engine can charge the battery to extend the plug-in hybrid cab’s range to 600 km (372 miles).
Geely acquired London Electric Vehicle Co., previously known as London Taxi Corp., in 2013.
To date, the Chinese automaker has invested more than £500 million (4.5 billion yuan) to restart production and product development for London Electric Vehicle in Coventry of England.
The plug-in hybrid TX was unveiled in early 2018. Aside from the U.K., the vehicle is also available in Germany, France, Switzerland, Denmark and Malaysia.
Accumulative sales of the vehicle globally have now topped 3,800, according to Geely.