China-made London Black Cabs in Kiev?

Kiev, the capital of Ukraine is eagerly awaiting the arrival of a much anticipated new model. No, not the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG (which is rumoured to be coming soon to Malaysia by the way) but the legendary London Taxi as Kiev is set to become one of the first cities in the world to introduce the iconic vehicle.

The London cab is built by the same company who designed it over 60 years ago. “We know more about taxi design and manufacture than anyone,” said Matthew Cheyne, LTI Vehicles’ International Market Development Director, “and it’s that expertise that we are bringing to Kiev.”

Today’s version of the black cab is built in China by LTI and their joint venture company Geely. “We have been working for a long time to produce a cost effective vehicle that doesn’t lose any of the values that the taxi has in the UK. It is the same design and is as robust as the one we build in Britain but is a lower cost,” adds Cheyne.

LTI Vehicles claims that it has numerous advance enquiries from Ukraine, and is looking for a partner who will import the vehicle and provide sales and aftersales back up.

http://paultan.org/2010/03/11/china-made-london-cabs-on-the-streets-of-kiev/