LONDON Taxis are as British an icon as it is possible to get. But the latest models coming off this new assembly line are unlikely to ever touch a road in the UK.
At a sprawling factory in the lush green suburbs of Shanghai, young Chinese workers are busily gearing up for full-scale production of one of Britain's most emblematic vehicles. It's part of an odd alliance that aims to give the distinctive black cab
a greater presence across the world.
London Taxi International, which will continue to build nine out ten cabs used in Britain at a factory in Coventry, could not expand at its small-scale, high-cost plant. So it turned to a partner – and to China – as a way to drive overseas expansion.
"To say the writing was on the wall would be pushing it a bit too far. But you do need to make progress within the automotive industry," said Paul Stowe, a British motor executive who is overseeing the joint venture between Britain's Manganese Bronze Holdings, owner of London Taxi International, and Geely Group Holdings, one of China's biggest independent carmakers.
The venture is bearing fruit already, Mr Stowe said, with agreements signed to sell 6,000 London Taxis from the Chinese factory, more than double the Coventry plant's annual output.
Most will go to cities outside China – places like Singapore, Dubai, Moscow – that covet the image associated with the London Taxis' tradition of good service and durability.
Manganese Bronze Holdings hunted for nearly a decade for a suitable Chinese partner. Geely was looking for a chance to bring onboard the new technology and quality upgrades it needs to get ahead in China's brutally competitive market, without risking being swallowed by a huge international rival.
"We were the right size and available at the right time. It works well for both companies," said Mr Stowe, who in his 15-year career already has completed almost a global tour of the industry, working first for Land Rover, then BMW, Jaguar, Ford, Lotus, MG-Rover and then MG Nanjing – a venture set up after Chinese carmaker Nanjing Automobile Group bought MG-Rover.
Trial production of London Taxi's TX4, equipped with Mitsubishi engines, began last week in Geely's factory, in the scenic canal town of Fengjing. By mid-December, the plant will launch mass production.
By boosting volume, LTI expects to reduce costs by up to 60 per cent, with most of the savings coming not from cheaper labour but from less costly parts, Mr Stowe said.
"Classical British Icon with Traditional Chinese Spirit," reads one of the many slogans in the factory. Unlike most modern car plants there are few robots, because the London Taxi is hand-built and hand-welded. The result is a heavy-duty, durable vehicle that can be driven one million miles and last for decades.
But it is the vehicle's traditional idiosyncrasies, such as its famed ability to make extremely tight turns, and the storage space next to the driver's seat that originally held hay bales in the days of horse and carriage, that give the black cab its appeal as "not just another car," says Mr Stowe.
Black cabs are seen strictly as a commercial vehicle in Britain. But in China, the vehicle's novelty and its fame from appearances in films lend it a certain cachet.
Mr Stowe, who has sold the rights to his memoir of his experiences working in China with MG Nanjing to the BBC, is something of an cultural ambassador in the car-making world. To help explain the London Taxis' distinctive, tall-topped shape, he keeps a bowler hat on hand.
Although black bowler hats are an uncommon sight in London nowadays, decades-old British rules required that a gentleman be able to sit comfortably in the back of a London Taxi with his hat on. "I actually purchased the bowler hat in London," Mr Stowe said, "but I was surprised to see when I looked at the label that it was made in China."
BACKGROUNDTHE shape most recognise as the classic London taxi cab first appeared in 1958.
The design and manufacture of the Austin FX4 passed from Austin to Carbodies, and then to London Taxis International, with various upgrades and modifications along the way, all the while maintaining the essential distinctive shape.
Other manufacturers attempted to enter the taxi market, but only MCW's Metrocab had any kind of success against its much-loved rival.
The final FX4 was built on 1 October, 1997, by which time over 50,000 examples had been produced.
The FX4 has been replaced by the TX model in UK taxi fleets, which retains the look of predecessor, but is an entirely different vehicle underneath.
The full article contains 794 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
