London black cabs raise $400 million to electrify taxi fleets

  • Bloomberg
  • Thursday, May 19, 2016 5:15pm
  • Business

Just days after London’s new mayor revealed plans to clamp down on the city’s toxic smog, the Chinese owner of the London Taxi Co. raised $400 million for a project to electrify its fleet of iconic black cabs.

Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co., owner of the company that makes London’s iconic black cabs, secured $400 million through a green bond sale. The proceeds will finance the development of the TX5, a hybrid battery-powered version of the classic 1958 FX4, unveiled in October during a state visit to Britain by Chinese President Xi Jinping.

“This is a landmark for us, not only in the sense of the funds raised, but also the purpose,” Frank Li, group chief financial officer, said in a telephone call with reporters. “We’re going to do a clean taxi not only for the U.K. market, but it’s going to be a global product that we can definitely grow our to help reduce emissions and provide a cleaner environment for everybody.”

A growing number of investors are seeking to place money into green bonds that fund projects that promise to accelerate the shift away from polluting energy and transport fuels to renewable and clean technology. Almost $56 billion of green bonds may be issued in 2016, topping last year’s record of $46 billion, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance.

Li said Geely’s green bond may have been oversubscribed by eight times, though the company has no plans to issue another in the foreseeable future.

Geely is the first global auto company to offer a green bond, according to Barclays Plc, which was a joint coordinator of the issue with Industrial &Commercial Bank of China Ltd., Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Societe Generale SA. The bonds, maturing in 2021 have a 2.75 percent coupon, the lowest ever for dollar bonds in China’s auto industry, Barclays said.

In the next two weeks, Geely will move to a new factory in Coventry, England, where it will start work on producing a prototype of the TX5, said Li. Commercial sales are set to start in the fourth quarter of 2017. That’s in time for the deadline of Jan. 1, 2018, when London will require all new taxis to be zero-emission capable.

The factory will be able to produce 36,000 electric cabs a year, far exceeding the 23,000 cabs on the London’s streets today. Li said the company is already in discussions with other European “mega cities” striving to curb pollution from their taxi fleets.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Business

Black Press Media operates Sound Publishing, the largest community news organization in Washington State with dailies and community news outlets in Alaska.
Black Press Media concludes transition of ownership

Black Press Media, which operates Sound Publishing, completed its sale Monday (March 25), following the formerly announced corporate restructuring.

Maygen Hetherington, executive director of the Historic Downtown Snohomish Association, laughs during an interview in her office on Thursday, Feb. 15, 2024, in Snohomish, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Maygen Hetherington: tireless advocate for the city of Snohomish

Historic Downtown Snohomish Association receives the Opportunity Lives Here award from Economic Alliance.

FILE - Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs poses in front of photos of the 15 people who previously held the office on Nov. 22, 2021, after he was sworn in at the Capitol in Olympia, Wash. Hobbs faces several challengers as he runs for election to the office he was appointed to last fall. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File)
Secretary of State Steve Hobbs: ‘I wanted to serve my country’

Hobbs, a former Lake Stevens senator, is the recipient of the Henry M. Jackson Award from Economic Alliance Snohomish County.

Mark Duffy poses for a photo in his office at the Mountain Pacific Bank headquarters on Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
Mark Duffy: Building a hometown bank; giving kids an opportunity

Mountain Pacific Bank’s founder is the recipient of the Fluke Award from Economic Alliance Snohomish County.

Barb Tolbert poses for a photo at Silver Scoop Ice Cream on Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024 in Arlington, Washington. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
Barb Tolbert: Former mayor piloted Arlington out of economic brink

Tolbert won the Elson S. Floyd Award, honoring a leader who has “created lasting opportunities” for the underserved.

Photo provided by 
Economic Alliance
Economic Alliance presented one of the Washington Rising Stem Awards to Katie Larios, a senior at Mountlake Terrace High School.
Mountlake Terrace High School senior wins state STEM award

Katie Larios was honored at an Economic Alliance gathering: “A champion for other young women of color in STEM.”

The Westwood Rainier is one of the seven ships in the Westwood line. The ships serve ports in the Pacific Northwest and Northeast Asia. (Photo provided by Swire Shipping)
Westwood Shipping Lines, an Everett mainstay, has new name

The four green-hulled Westwood vessels will keep their names, but the ships will display the Swire Shipping flag.

A Keyport ship docked at Lake Union in Seattle in June 2018. The ship spends most of the year in Alaska harvesting Golden King crab in the Bering Sea. During the summer it ties up for maintenance and repairs at Lake Union. (Keyport LLC)
In crabbers’ turbulent moment, Edmonds seafood processor ‘saved our season’

When a processing plant in Alaska closed, Edmonds-based business Keyport stepped up to solve a “no-win situation.”

Angela Harris, Executive Director of the Port of Edmonds, stands at the port’s marina on Wednesday, Jan. 24, 2024, in Edmonds, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Leadership, love for the Port of Edmonds got exec the job

Shoring up an aging seawall is the first order of business for Angela Harris, the first woman to lead the Edmonds port.

The Cascade Warbirds fly over Naval Station Everett. (Sue Misao / The Herald file)
Bothell High School senior awarded $2,500 to keep on flying

Cascade Warbirds scholarship helps students 16-21 continue flight training and earn a private pilot’s certificate.

Rachel Gardner, the owner of Musicology Co., a new music boutique record store on Thursday, Jan. 18, 2024 in Edmonds, Washington. Musicology Co. will open in February, selling used and new vinyl, CDs and other music-related merchandise. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
New Edmonds record shop intends to be a ‘destination for every musician’

Rachel Gardner opened Musicology Co. this month, filling a record store gap in Edmonds.

MyMyToyStore.com owner Tom Harrison at his brick and mortar storefront on Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2022 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Burst pipe permanently closes downtown Everett toy store

After a pipe flooded the store, MyMyToystore in downtown Everett closed. Owner Tom Harrison is already on to his next venture.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.