London taxis, complete with wi-fi, on the streets of Nanjing

August 12, 2013, 5:22 | di Mr. Livingstone | 0

The manufacturer of the famous London taxis, Manganese Bronze Holdings, ended up in the hands of the Chinese Geely - And a few days ago, a fleet of 59 taxis with a characteristic black color, like those of the British capital, appeared on the streets of Nanjing , equipped with wi-fi connections available to customers

London taxis, complete with wi-fi, on the streets of Nanjing

The story begins from afar. The manufacturer of the famous London taxis – those black but solid boxes – it is called, or rather it was called, Manganese Bronze Holdings plc, and, after various corporate vicissitudes (mostly unhappy) which had led to a spin-off of the taxi part under the name of 'London Taxi Company', was acquired in February by a Chinese company, Geely. Previously, over the 60-year history of the company, as many as 130 thousand taxis were produced. Today Geely produces the chassis and other parts in Shanghai, which are then assembled in Great Britain, in Coventry (for the European market, mainly English) and in Shanghai itself. Geely UK intends to produce a smaller taxi, aimed at the rental market: this new model – the TXN – is expected to be available in 2017.

A few days ago, on the streets of Nanjing, a fleet of 59 London taxis (traditional black) has appeared, equipped with walkways for wheelchair access and 4G wi-fi connections for the comfort of passengers. The fare is 9 yuan (€1,10) for the first 2 kilometers, 2,9 yuan (€0,36) for each additional kilometer, and 2 yuan (€0,25) for the fuel surcharge.