At first glance it’s a strange combination, a London taxi being displayed in Detroit by a Chinese company.
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Stranger still, there are no plans by Geely to sell the famous black cabs in the USA, and this was no Chinese ‘knock-off’ model.
Geely has a technology agreement with London Taxis International to build the cabs for the Chinese market where it will be launched towards the end of the year.
The company then has plans to sell them in other Asian markets.
So why was a London taxi on display at the Detroit Motor Show? As a ‘crowd puller’ for other Geely models which the company does plan to launch in North America.
Then it all became a little vague. These included a number of models priced between $US6,000 and $60,000, all currently available along with up to 15 new vehicles which would be introduced within a three to five year time frame.
According to Li Shufu, chairman of Geely Holding Company, these would be launched in America “when the market is ready to welcome us”.
There are also ambitious plans for factories in Europe, Mexico and South Africa. The first of these, in Mexico, is scheduled for “very soon” according to Shufu.
He revealed, however, that the company had developed a major new safety technology which allows drivers to retain control of a vehicle during a high speed tyre blow-out.
Working in conjunction with the Chinese Academy of Engineering, the system links tyre pressure monitoring sensors to the ABS system which automatically puts on the brakes and keeps the car in a straight line until it reaches a speed where it can be safely driven off the road.
No news on when this would go into major production.
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