LEVC announces impressive new SOA-based foundation, but what does it mean for the taxi industry?

London Electric Vehicle Company (LEVC), a Geely-owned company, has announced its plans to roll out a new SOA-based vehicle platform with new futuristic features.

There is likely to be three types of battery packs available. The first is a 73kWh lithium-iron phosphate unit, which will provide a range of 226 miles on the WLTP test cycle. The second is a 102kWh nickel-cobalt-manganese (NCM) battery pack, which will offer a range of 307 miles. Finally, there will be a larger 120kWh NCM battery, capable of providing a range of 359 miles.

The key features interesting the taxi trade centre around the charging time being significantly reduced for the new platform, and a heat pump will be fitted to every vehicle as standard. The company stated that charging from 10-80% will take just 30 minutes, making it one of the fastest charging times in the market.

LEVC also revealed that the new in-car infotainment technology has been developed in partnership with Geely affiliate Ecarx and boasts enough computing power for up to eight infotainment screens and 12 interior cameras.

According to reporters who were invited to the launch of the new SOA, the new platform's autonomous capabilities are also set to be a key feature in the latter half of the 2020s, though the initial run of vehicles will be limited to level two driver assistance.

LEVC has not yet confirmed what models it will build on the new platform. However, they revealed a preview on stage of the 'Xspace Family,' including a taxi, a family MPV, a luxury MPV, and two vans.

The managing director of LEVC, Chris Allen, said that the taxi (TX) would always be manufactured in the UK. However, it is unlikely that every variant will be built here, as the company will decide the manufacturing footprint based on the market demands and efficiency.

The new SOA-based vehicle platform is expected to arrive in the market around the middle of the decade.

TaxiPoint has approached LEVC for further taxi industry specific comment.