One of the UK innovations featured at SMMT Electrified, at London’s QEII Centre this Thursday (12th March), is the UK’s only all-electric taxi.
MAXiCab is a six-seat, purpose-built taxi, with a separate passenger compartment, designed and manufactured by Glasgow-based wheelchair accessible vehicle specialist, Allied Vehicles. Based on the superb All-Electric Ford E-Tourneo Custom, with a zero-emissions range exceeding 200 miles, it offers an accessible, green alternative for public hire taxi fleets throughout the UK.
Launched last year, MAXiCab has since been approved for operation across all the UK’s major cities, except London. Despite concerns over the impact of pollution on local health and wellbeing, MAXiCab is not yet available for London taxi operators to buy, due to the fabled ‘turning circle’ rule.
The requirement for a uniquely tight turning circle, not offered on any modern mass production vehicle, was introduced by London in 1906, for fear of the early motorised taxis stalling and requiring to be crank-started.
In boroughs in central London, such as Soho or the City of Westminster, up to 40% of streets nowadays are one-way. Combined with the widespread provision of cycle lanes, this means that U-turns are often impossible or, at best, inadvisable.
The new Ford MAXiCab also offers greater manoeuvrability to safely position a wheelchair user, with 22% more useable internal space than existing London cabs. Meanwhile, the capital’s accessible taxi fleet has declined from 22,000 to just 14,000, over the past decade.
Lisa Brankin, chair and managing director of Ford of Britain and Ireland and one of the keynote speakers at SMMT Electified, commented: “Designed and engineered by Ford in Dunton, with an electric motor manufactured in Halewood in Merseyside, and then converted to a taxi in Glasgow, MAXiCab showcases the strength of British automotive engineering and collaboration. It’s a great example of how UK expertise is helping reduce transport carbon emissions and deliver cleaner mobility for the future.”
Allied Vehicles managing director, Peter Facenna, added: “Our strong partnership with Ford has helped us to create what we believe to be the ideal modern taxi for congested, urban environments.
“Unblocking the London market would provide a much-needed competitive option for hard-pressed London cab drivers and would result in an additional 200 jobs in UK manufacturing.”