Geely's London black cab unit introduces new big EV platform

Geely subsidiary London Electric Vehicle Company (LEVC) on Friday revealed a new, big electric-vehicle (EV) platform for vehicles ranging from people-movers to commercial vans that it claimed could potentially be utilized by other divisions of the Chinese manufacturer.

LEVC claimed the platform, termed Space Oriented Architecture (SOA), had been cooperatively developed over the previous two-and-a-half years in China, Sweden, the United Kingdom and Germany, would enable EVs with extended range, fast-charging capabilities and enhanced driver-assistance features.

Speaking to reporters on Thursday at LEVC headquarters in Ansty, England, officials claimed the versatile platform could be used for a broad variety of EVs, including pickup trucks, huge SUVs or even mobile homes.

But officials said they could not disclose information of which EVs LEVC will concentrate on initially, when the new EVs may roll off the assembly line or where they will be built.

Earlier this year, LEVC claimed Geely was considering a large investment to convert the producer of London's renowned black cabs into a high-volume, all-electric brand with a variety of commercial and passenger vehicles.

The business said it could not yet offer an update on those plans.

Geely owns various companies including British sportscar manufacturer Lotus, Zeekr, Volvo and - through a joint venture with Volvo - Polestar.

As such, Geely confronts challenges that bigger EV manufactures BYD and Tesla Inc have avoided. The Chinese automaker also already has its own commercial van brand, Farizon.

LEVC Managing Director Chris Allen told Reuters that the brand was positioning itself inside the Geely group to create bigger EVs that "give more space, more opportunities, more flexibility with a larger vehicle size."