Baku Taxi Service took delivery of 100 Tupelo Red LEVC TX cabs in 2020, after President Ilham Aliyev picked both the model and the colour.
The March order
In March 2020 the London EV Company agreed to supply the 100 zero-emission-capable taxis to Baku Taxi Service LLC, a government-backed operator that already ran a large fleet of purple TX4s in the capital.
Aliyev had chosen the TX as the city’s premium cab and selected Tupelo Red so the new taxis would stand out. They were for visitors at Baku’s events and expos, and for VIP hotel and airport shuttles. The cabin seats six, with a panoramic roof, Wi-Fi and charging points.
Before the cabs left the line, two transport officials — Emin Mammadov, executive assistant to the minister, and department head Shahin Ismayilov — visited the factory at Ansty to watch them being built.
Chief executive Joerg Hofmann said the order built on that existing relationship and was part of a plan “to increase our export business volume to 60% of total sales by 2022”.
Aliyev sees them in Baku
The taxis were in the capital by late summer. On 12 August 2020 Aliyev viewed the fleet while transport minister Ramin Guluzade talked him through the cabs. Taxi Point reported they were ready for service.
The briefing, given while pandemic rules were still in force, stressed a glass partition between driver and passengers, a cabin microphone, and sensors that warn the driver about speed limits and if the car drifts off its line. Guluzade also pointed to USB ports, Wi-Fi, GPS, a Braille control panel, an instruction board for deaf passengers, and a wheelchair ramp.
Aliyev was told Baku Taxi Service, part of the Ministry of Transport, Communications and High Technologies, then had 1,200 taxis working in the city.