By By Danny King http://green.autoblog.com
We’d like to think details involving the proposed plug-in London taxi that is to be developed by Ecotive and Frazer-Nash were lost in translation but, well, we’re talking about London, so there’s no excuse. Instead, we’re just going to have to take London Mayor Boris Johnson’s word for it, and he seems to think such cabs are the wave of London’s taxi-cab future.
The basics are that Ecotive and Frazer-Nash have developed a six-passenger cab with big-old glass windows and a drivetrain that allows for emissions-free driving in one of the world’s most trafficked cities. The Range-Extended Electric (REE) Metrocab will have a trial fleet ready to go early next year. It’s also supposed to be priced “competitively” and will feature a lithium-ion battery pack as well as an electric motor powering each of the rear wheels. We don’t know yet what the cab’s single-charge range is or how much it’ll actually cost.
London has long been perceived as a great market to launch plug-in taxis, and they’ve been tested in various forms there. Last June, Nissan promoted its all-electric Leaf in London by accepting Tweets as payment for cab rides in specially painted Leafs throughout the city. Nissan started production of the Leaf at its Sunderland plant in the UK earlier this year. And last October, China-based BYD said it reached an agreement with Greentomatocars to supply 50 all-electric e6 vehicles for a London taxi-cab fleet. Check out the press release from Ecotive and Frazer-Nash below, where you can also find a video. More info and video
