The 25,000 strong black cab community in the capital is going through changes with new vehicles, new laws and a new Mayor to deal with. Now the Chinese company Geely plan to "electrify" black cabs and end the reliance on diesel.

City Desk

A Chinese car manufacturer plans to "electrify" the London black cab according to the FT.  Geely the co-owner of Manganese Bronze the company responsible for the manufacture of the TX model black cabs is partly owned by Geely who hold a 23 per cent share of the Coventry company who made headlines recently with the technical issues affecting TX4 models catching fire.

Speaking to the FT the chairman of Geely Li Shufu said:

"One of our ideas is to convert London taxis into electric we are doing research on the project."

Mr Li according to the FT has already spoken with Mayor Johnson about black cabs turning electric during the 2008 Beijing Olympics games, with the mayor already supporting the step to "electrify" black cabs.

Manganese Bronze has already made inroads into converting black cabs into electric with an agreement signed to develop technology with Tanfield Electrci Vehicles with the intention to produce all electric vehicles.

This announcement comes at a time when the black cab community estimated to be around 25,000 has expressed their opposition to the way in which the PCO have allowed Rick shores and illegal minicabs to tout for work in the capital with apparent impunity from the law.