Call Sign October 2008 - Page 26 - NO TAXIS TO LONDON FROM CHINA

At a press call by LTI Vehicles held at M&O London, Manganese Bronze Chief Executive John Russell together with LTI Vehicles MD Peter Shillcock, dismissed rumours currently circulating through the London trade that the now successful Chinese partnership between Geely and LTI, would soon be producing taxis for the London market. The trade press were told that whilst the joint business in China between Geely and LTI was more successful than the instigators had originally envisaged at this stage, the idea that the small town of Fengjing in Shanghai where young Chinese workers were on the verge of full-scale production would soon be taking over from Coventry, was untrue - and that was after the recent TX4 fires. Mr Russell emphasised that although some staff had lost their jobs with the arrival of the credit crunch – early retirement being one of the ways – Coventry would still remain as the UK’s TX4 builders. However, he agreed that there was a strong probability that China could be used for cheaper spare parts. He was also delighted that over 90% of the components needed to build the TX4 in China could be sourced locally. When the question was raised about the TX4s that had mysteriously caught fire, John Russell said they were taking the matter extremely seriously, but that up till that time they had found no reason why the	NO TAXIS TO LONDON FROM CHINA LTI squash the rumour?
	incidents had occurred. It was also pointed out that several thousand had been sold, so the percentage that caught fire was tiny but they would keep investigating until they found the answer. Soon after, early TX4s were withdrawn from service after the PCO withdrew their licenses. As you’d expect, there were questions on the competition provided by KPM and the Mercedes Vito, but the LTI spokesmen both confirmed that they were pleased to see that a competitor had arrived on the scene that had not tried to sneak through the Conditions of Fitness requirements. The pair also reiterated that KPM would remain as a dealer for LTI and added that they were pleased a company that knew how the taxi business operated was selling the new cab. Also on the agenda was LTI’s progress in producing a greener taxi that would help cut down carbon dioxide emissions. Call Sign has already written of next year’s TX4E electric vehicle being built in conjunction with Tanfield and also the small fleet of hydrogen cell taxis to be produced along with assistance from Intelligent Energy and Lotus Engineering in time for the 2012 London Olympics. Among other questions put to Messrs Russell and Shillcock was one on Biodiesel and could	the TX4 use it if the biodiesel element was in excess of 5%? The answer was just as it was when Radio Taxis first opened their pump – if the biodiesel you are using represents more that 5% of the fuel, you will invalidate the part of the warrantee connected to the fuel. It was claimed that following any problems in that area, VM would know if the incorrect biodiesel fuel had been used. Regardless of what you are told, you use biodiesel above 5% at the risk of nullifying part of the warrantee. Finally, a website is available for questions to LTI. Go to www.lti.co.uk and click on contact LTI on the top tab. Then click on enquiries and comments and follow the cue. Maria Holmes-Wood will be at the other end and forward your question on to the appropriate member of staff or department.

Call Sign Home Page

Page 28