China to produce London Taxis

FENGJING, China — London Taxis are as British as bowler hats and Big Ben. But the latest models coming off this new assembly line are unlikely to ever touch an English road.

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 iconic vehicles. It's part of an odd alliance that aims to give the distinctive black cab a greater presence outside its namesake city.

London Taxi International, which will continue to build nine out 10 cabs used in Britain at a factory in Coventry, England, couldn't grow production 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 auto 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 automakers.

The venture is bearing fruit already, 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 such as Singapore, Dubai, Moscow — that covet the image associated with the London Taxis' tradition of good service and durability.

London Taxi expects to sell them mostly to hotels, limousine services, airports, and individuals who might want to collect one, Stowe said.

Trial production of London Taxi's TX4, equipped with 2.4-liter Mitsubishi engines, began last week in Geely's sprawling Shanghai Maple factory, in the scenic canal town of Fengjing. By mid-December, the plant will launch mass production.

The price for the vehicles will be significantly cheaper than the British-made models, which sell for about 30,000 British pounds ($54,000), he said.

The London Taxi is hand-built and hand-welded. The result is a heavy-duty, durable vehicle that can be driven 1 million miles and last several decades. But it's the vehicle's traditional idiosyncrasies, such as 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.