London Black Taxi manufacturer sold to China's Geely

Jonathon Ramsey — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 08:45:00 EST

Filed under: Earnings/Financials, UK, Specialty, Geely

Geely, the Chinese company that also owns Volvo, now owns Manganese Bronze Holdings (MBH), makers of London's Black Cab. MBH went into administration late last year, and some had looked to Geely to rescue the company in which it had a 19.7-percent equity stake. Although it's taken three months to strike a deal, and more than half of the workforce was let go, Geely finally agreed to buy MBH for 11.4 million pounds ($17.9M US).

The purchase confers to Geely "the business and principal assets" of MBH, including the intellectual property and trademarks, equipment, properties, unsold stock, "goodwill" and complete ownership of the China-based joint venture in which Geely was producing the Englong SC7-RV. Happily for fans of the iconic product, the deal keeps production in Coventry and Geely has stated its desire to reestablish and grow the firm.

Reasserting authority in the UK taxi market and getting back in the good books of owners will take money and commitment. Manufacturers like Nissan and Mercedes-Benz have been poaching former owners of LTI products, and what current owners have seen as a lack of service and support has turned apathy into ire. Geely will need to put the time and money into new, competitive and reliable models to make a success of its latest purchase. If those new models can retain the Black Cab's aesthetic place in the London streetscape, all the better for it.

London Black Taxi manufacturer sold to China's Geely originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 04 Feb 2013 08:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Beijing Preview: Geely reinvisions London's iconic taxi with its Englon TXN

Zach Bowman — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 14:28:00 EST

Filed under: Concept Cars, Budget, Sedan, Geely, Beijing Motor Show, Diesel

Geely Englon TXN - Click above for high-res image gallery

Geely may be content to let Volvo do its thing without any apparent outside intervention (at least for now), but the Swedish brand's new parent company apparently has its heart set on unleashing a wave of taxis on England. A set of renderings just hit the web featuring a freshly designed taxi rolling through London. Called the Englon TXN, the car is slated for an official unveil at the Bejing Motor Show at the end of this month.

Details are scarce at the moment, but the car's design takes a modern spin on the classic look of the old British taxis. While the exterior shots almost look to be Photoshop creations, the interior pictures appear to be the real deal, and it features a rather nifty driver-centric cockpit.

Everyone's favorite Chinese automaker has been aggressively snapping up stock in Manganese Bronze for awhile now in an attempt to grab a controlling stake in the purveyor or London's iconic black cabs. The Coventry-based taxi-maker also cranks out cars for China, though those vehicles fly under the Englon name. As we all know, what Geely wants, Geely gets, so don't be too surprised if the streets of London are flooded with Chinese cabs the next time you visit.

Gallery: Englon TXN

[Source: The Tycho via Autohome]

Beijing Preview: Geely reinvisions London's iconic taxi with its Englon TXN originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 09 Apr 2010 14:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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