Chinese electric carmaker BYD, which is backed by billionaire U.S. investor Warren Buffett, and greentomatocars have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to create London’s first fleet of all-electric minicabs.
Under the MoU, BYD will supply greentomatocars with 50 of its pure electric e6 models for trial use in the UK Capital.
greentomatocars is London’s second largest quality minicab service and strives to use the most environmentally-friendly vehicles available in its fleet of 300. It is expected that the 50 electric BYD e6 will be available for its customers to use from the second quarter of 2013.
BYD has also been supported in this deal by London & Partners, the Mayor’s official promotional organization for London.
The five-seat e6 is a crossover vehicle with a spacious interior that lends itself perfectly to the private hire market, with substantial legroom and headroom for passengers, as well as ample luggage capacity. It is a zero-direct-emission electric vehicle, which means that it emits no harmful toxic emissions, criteria pollutants or harmful greenhouse gases. BYD e6 taxis are well-proven and have already driven a total of more than 14 million miles in key global markets.
The e6 features a 75kW motor and BYD’s own Fe battery (Iron Phosphate battery), which gives the car a range of up to 186 miles on a single charge in urban conditions with a top speed of 87mph and instant torque providing excellent acceleration. The Fe battery can be fully charged and discharged for more than 4,000 cycles.
