Manganese Bronze Holdings - Taxi Production

Taxi Production

The classic Austin FX3 "black cab" taxi of 1948 was built by car body builder Carbodies in partnership with Mann & Overton and Austin. More than 7000, mainly destined for London, were produced over ten years. Carbodies concentrated on producing complete taxis, starting with the Austin FX4 in 1958/9; this is the classic cab still common today. They were taken over by Manganese Bronze Holdings plc in 1973. In 1982 Carbodies took over the intellectual rights to the FX4 from British Leyland (which had by then absorbed Austin). Latterly, developed FX4 models were known as the LTI Fairway.

LTI introduced the successor to the FX4, the TX1 in 1997. It was developed into the TXII, which was introduced in 2002. It is powered by a Ford Dura Torq 2.4-litre diesel engine and features an integral, fold-down ramp for wheelchairs. It also has an intermediate step and swivel-out seat for passengers with moderate walking difficulties. For people with hearing problems it has an induction loop incorporated in the intercom system.

The latest model as of 2006 is the TX4. It is powered by a VM R 425 DOHC diesel engine and features many refinements and enhancements.

All taxis operated in London, UK must comply with the Conditions of Fitness, which are managed by the Public Carriage Office (PCO). Formerly a civilian branch of the Metropolitan Police Service, the PCO is now part of Transport for London, under control of the Mayor of London.

Over 130,000 London Black Taxis have been produced at London Taxi Company's Coventry site over the past sixty years. Annual production has averaged between 2000 and 2500 units per year through the past decade. Around two thirds of production goes into London via the London dealership in Islington. The remainder goes largely to the larger cities in the UK that have adopted the PCO's London Conditions of Fitness (including Glasgow, Edinburgh, Liverpool, Manchester, Birmingham, Coventry and Bristol). Outside these cities the market for taxis is dominated by multi-purpose vehicles that have been converted to make them wheelchair accessible in line with the Disability Discrimination Act 1995.

In June 2007 Manganese Bronze Holdings, The London Taxi Company’s parent company, finalised a joint venture with Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd to produce the purpose-built taxi in Shanghai, China. The joint venture company began manufacturing the London Taxi in April 2009 following a successful launch at the Shanghai Auto Show. The vehicle is produced in Coventry for the UK market and the Shanghai joint venture manufactures the vehicle for the rest of the world. LTI rebranded to The London Taxi Company in 2010.

On 12 October 2012 the London Taxi Company announced the recall of some four hundred TX4 models delivered since late February 2012 owing to two incidents involving a loss of power steering. For reasons not yet fully understood by the Company a circlip in the steering box came detached causing the steering box to lock up. The four hundred plus vehicles which were affected by the problem are now having the steering box replaced with a British made steering box, no new cabs can be manufactured or sold until a replacement steering box is available for production and stock vehicles..