London Black Cabs receive $400m electrification investment
News
1 Jun 2016
The London Taxi Company has announced its parent company Geely has set aside $400 million for the development and commercialisation of its recently announced plug-in vehicles.
Frank Li, chief financial officer for Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co., owner of the company the taxis, said: “Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co. has secured $400 million through a green bond sale. The proceeds will finance the development of the TX5, a hybrid battery-powered version of the classic 1958 FX4, unveiled in October during a state visit to Britain by Chinese President Xi Jinping.”
according to Angie Tang, a Hong Kong-based spokeswoman at Barclays: “Geely’s green bond was oversubscribed by close to six times. The company has no plans to issue another in the foreseeable future.”
The sales of electrified black cabs are set to begin late in 2017, ahead of the Transport For London (TFL) legislation which directs that all new cabs must be ‘zero-emissions capable’ from 2 January 2018.
