London’s next purpose-built black cab is officially on the way. LEVC confirmed that its next-generation taxi will enter the UK market in the second half of 2027, engineered from the ground up to meet Transport for London’s Metropolitan Conditions of Fitness — the rules that decide what can work as a licensed London hackney carriage.
The new model will replace the current TX range-extended electric taxi, which launched in 2018 and remains the only purpose-built, zero-exhaust-emission-capable black cab in series production. For the trade, that is the biggest product signal since the TXE era began nearly a decade ago: London is being promised another iconic, purpose-built cab into the 2030s. What nobody has yet is the detail that decides whether fleets and owner-drivers will queue to order.
What LEVC has confirmed
In a statement dated 16 September 2026 from Ansty, LEVC said:
- UK launch is planned for the second half of 2027
- The cab will be fully purpose-built for TfL’s Conditions of Fitness
- Early design sketches show a familiar upright silhouette with a more modern look
- Final assembly of the current TX ends this month (September 2026) so Ansty can prepare for the replacement
- New vehicle production is due to start in 2027
- Parts, servicing and technical support for existing TX owners will continue through LEVC’s aftersales network
Geely Group has invested more than £1 billion in LEVC since 2013, the company said, and remains committed to the UK taxi sector. Chief executive Tony Chi said the next cab would “honour everything drivers and passengers value about the current TX, while taking a significant step forward in design, innovation and sustainability.”
LEVC also said the current TX has sold more than 12,000 units worldwide and, on the company’s own calculations, has cut London taxi fleet NOx by about 60% and avoided more than 450 million kilograms of CO₂ compared with an equivalent diesel TX4 fleet.
The questions still unanswered
Full technical specifications, pricing, manufacturing volumes and an exact on-sale date are still “under wraps”. For working drivers and fleet operators, the gaps that matter most are obvious:
- Will it be a pure EV, or keep some form of range extender?
- If it is battery-only, what is the real-world range on a long shift?
- How fast will it charge, and how practical is that between jobs?
- What will it cost to buy or finance compared with today’s TX?
Professional Driver reported that LEVC would neither confirm nor deny earlier suggestions of an all-electric taxi. A company spokesman said it could not yet give more information on pricing or specification, but insisted the vehicle is being developed around the needs of drivers, passengers, fleets and cities.
That caution matters. The current TX’s appeal for many cabbies is the eCity range-extender set-up — up to about 78 miles of pure electric range and around 333 miles total — which softens range anxiety on long days or when home charging is awkward. Dropping the extender would be a big operating change; keeping it would go against the wider industry drift towards battery-only platforms.
There is also speculation about Geely-group electric technology. In 2023 LEVC showed its SOA (Space Oriented Architecture) EV platform, co-developed with Geely and used on the L380 MPV, with a claimed long electric range. Professional Driver notes LEVC still will not say whether SOA underpins the next taxi, though the Ansty retooling pause until 2027 points to a substantial change rather than a mild facelift.
Why fleets are watching closely
Larger operators put serious capital into black cabs for rent. Until LEVC publishes range, charging performance, reliability expectations and a price, fleet replacement plans stay provisional. Owner-drivers face the same maths with sharper personal risk: deposit, monthly finance, battery warranty and downtime between fares.
Day-to-day kit will matter too once demos begin — hire-light visibility, cabin communication, phone charging, navigation and driver aids — but the first filter for most buyers will still be whether the vehicle can earn all day without range drama.
LEVC says it will keep working with drivers and industry partners and will release more on technology, capability, manufacturing and timing “in due course.” Dealers and fleets are likely to get a closer look as development advances; until then, the trade has a launch window and a sketchbook, not a full brief.
Bottom line
LEVC has locked in a next-generation, TfL-ready black cab for the second half of 2027 and is ending TX assembly now to make room for it. That guarantees London a purpose-built successor in principle. Whether drivers cheer or hesitate will depend on the next announcements — especially powertrain, range and price.