Geely has unveiled its Chinese-made London taxi at the Shanghai Auto Show. The car is the result of a joint venture with the UK’s Manganese Bronze Holdings Plc.
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The joint venture is part of a plan for Manganeze Bronze to sell taxis overseas. “A lot of the markets we could sell into internationally would like the product, but they are too expensive,” ” John K. Russell, chief executive officer for Manganese Bronze, told the Associated Press in an interview on the sidelines of the motor show.
With Geely, the company will be making 20,000 London cabs a year in China while continuing its current output of 3,000 a year in Britain.
The joint venture plans to make a limousine based on the current taxi design, and two passenger cars.
The cars will cost around 250,000 yuan (US$32,000; EUR23,500), according to Geely. That is around a third of what they cost in Britain.
This is expensive for China, but their higher quality ensures they can run far longer than the VW Santanas and other basic sedans currently used by most Chinese taxi fleets, according to Liu Jinliang, general manager for Shanghai Maple Automobile Co Ltd., which has a one percent stake in the joint venture. Geely holds 51% of the company and Manganese Bronze 48%.
