London’s famous black cab will get an all-new generation in 2027
London EV Company, or LEVC, has shown the first images of the next-generation London black cab. The new model will arrive on the UK market in the second half of 2027, replacing the TX, which has been on sale since 2018. Its technical specification remains under wraps for now.
The classic shape will remain
The first sketches show that LEVC has no intention of changing one of London’s best-known symbols beyond recognition. The new taxi retains its high roof, upright body and familiar proportions, but will apparently receive more modern front and rear styling.
LEVC is developing the car from the outset to meet Transport for London’s Metropolitan Conditions of Fitness requirements. These govern, among other things, the accessibility and practicality of London taxis. The manufacturer stresses that the new model will remain a vehicle designed specifically for taxi work, rather than a version adapted from an ordinary passenger car.
The powertrain is a major question mark
The current TX is a plug-in hybrid with electric drive, whose 1.5-litre petrol engine serves as a range extender. LEVC has not yet disclosed the new model’s powertrain.
An all-electric solution seems entirely technically realistic, as battery production and charging infrastructure have advanced considerably since the TX was launched in 2018. At the same time, a London taxi must work long shifts and spend as little time as possible standing at a charger, meaning that retaining a range extender is by no means out of the question. LEVC promises to release technical details later.
Production of the current TX ends as early as September
LEVC will end final assembly of the TX in September 2026 and prepare its Ansty plant for the arrival of the new generation. Production of the new car is expected to begin in 2027.
More than 12,000 TXs have been sold worldwide since 2018. LEVC calculates that, compared with an equivalent number of Euro 6 diesel-powered TX4 taxis, these vehicles have reduced CO2 emissions by more than 450 million kilograms. According to the manufacturer, nitrogen oxide emissions from London’s taxi fleet have fallen by 60 percent. These are LEVC’s own calculations, not the results of independent measurements.
LEVC is owned by the Geely Group, which has invested more than £1 billion in the company since 2013. The new taxi shows that the Chinese have no intention of retiring the more than century-old institution of the London black cab.
By European standards, it will remain an exceptional vehicle in its next generation. While most cities turn ordinary passenger cars into taxis, LEVC still builds an entire vehicle around a single profession.
