The TX4 is the purpose-built London taxi that The London Taxi Company built from 2007 to 2017, its design evolved from the Austin FX3 of the 1950s. In 2008 Geely began building it in Shanghai through a joint venture with LTI, and from 2013 the London Taxi Company itself was a Geely subsidiary. In China the cab was sold under Geely’s Englon brand.
Geely TX4 at a glance
| Maker | The London Taxi Company (LTI), later LEVC |
|---|---|
| Production | 2007–2017 |
| Body | purpose-built taxicab (hackney carriage) |
| Design origin | Austin FX3 of the 1950s |
| Geely stake | London Taxi Company became a Geely subsidiary in 2013 |
| UK engine | 2.5-litre VM Motori diesel, 101 hp (75 kW), 240 N·m |
| Export engine | 2.4-litre Mitsubishi 4G69 petrol, 150 hp (112 kW) |
| Gearboxes | Chrysler 545RFE five-speed automatic; Eaton five-speed manual |
| Chassis | boxed hydroformed ladder frame with separate body |
| China production | Shanghai LTI joint venture, from July 2008 |
| Chinese name | Englon TX4 |
History of the Geely TX4
A new London taxi
The TX4 replaced the TXII in 2007 and carried the familiar London cab shape forward: a new front radiator grille, an updated interior, revised front and rear bumpers and a different surround for the rear number plate. EU safety rules brought internal headrests; the two headrests on the central partition for the rear-facing tip-up seats were dropped on later cars because drivers found them awkward for visibility. The model number skipped TX3 because the engine was Euro 4 compliant, and also to keep a link with the famous Austin FX4.
Under the bonnet, the only engine offered in Britain was a 2.5-litre VM Motori R 425 diesel of 101 hp (75 kW) at 4,000 rpm and 240 N·m at 1,800 rpm, driving through a Chrysler 545RFE five-speed automatic or an Eaton FSO 2405 A five-speed manual. Outside the UK the cab could be had with a 2.4-litre Mitsubishi 4G69 petrol engine of 150 hp (112 kW), available only with a Mitsubishi five-speed manual.
As with its predecessors the TX4 sat on a fully boxed hydroformed ladder frame with a separate body. Front suspension was double wishbone with coil springs and an anti-roll bar, and the rear used a solid axle with coil springs and a Panhard rod. The diesel was later updated to Euro 5 and then Euro 6, with a 2.8-litre VM engine; that was the last version of the TX shape before the electric LEVC TX arrived in 2017.
Geely and China
In January 2007 an extraordinary general meeting of LTI’s shareholders approved a joint venture with Geely Automobile called Shanghai LTI to manufacture the TX4 in China. Production started in July 2008, and in August 2010 Geely disclosed that Shanghai LTI had begun supplying semi-knocked-down TX4s to the UK. Geely sold the cab in China under the Englon name, a brand name that sounds like England, and developed a new version called the TXN with a more bulbous shape meant to look more youthful. An Englon SC7-RV concept shown in 2011 was intended as a private family saloon on the same base.
Problems
The TX4’s early years brought two safety scares. In September 2008 about fifteen engine fires in three months forced a partial recall, and the Public Carriage Office required every model on a ’56’ registration plate to undergo safety checks. The story reached the headlines after a BBC London presenter received photographs of a taxi that caught fire outside a club in Upper St Martin’s Lane.
In 2012 Manganese Bronze, then the maker of the cab, announced the recall of 400 vehicles and suspended sales after a defect was found in new steering boxes introduced that February on cars built in Coventry. The company warned that the recall would have a material and detrimental effect on its cashflow; it had already been hit by mounting losses and an accounting error that left a £4 million hole in its accounts.
Design and features
- Purpose-built cab: a separate body on a boxed hydroformed ladder frame, as on every London taxi since the FX3.
- VM Motori diesel: 2.5 litres, 101 hp, later enlarged to 2.8 litres for Euro 6.
- Chinese production: built in Shanghai from 2008 by the Shanghai LTI joint venture.
- Hydrogen prototype: a fuel cell taxi developed with Intelligent Energy, with a 250-mile range.
Geely TX4 versions
- TX4 diesel (2007–2017): the standard British cab, automatic or manual.
- TX4 petrol: 2.4-litre Mitsubishi engine for markets outside the UK.
- Englon TX4: the Chinese-built version sold under Geely’s Englon brand.
- TXN: a planned Geely version with a more rounded body.
- Englon SC7-RV (2011): a concept for a private family saloon on the TX4 base.
- Hydrogen fuel cell TX4: five cabs run by the HyTEC project in London.
The cab was sold in China under the Englon brand, alongside Geely’s own small cars such as the Geely MK. More cars are in the Geely collection.
Sources
- TX4, English Wikipedia: design, engines, chassis, China, recalls, hydrogen project
