APPENDIX 4
Vehicle Types
These vehicles are purpose-built taxis and have CO2 emissions of less than 50g/km and can travel at least 112km (70 miles) without any emissions at all:
•Dynamo Taxi
The Dynamo taxi is 100% electric and comes with a side wheelchair access https://www.dynamotaxi.com/why-dynamo/
•LEVC TX
Photograph of LEVC TX by way of example (source: levc.com)
The LEVC TX is powered by a lithium-ion battery and features a petrol range extender to maintain the battery charge state. The battery always powers the motor and drives the vehicle. The range-extender acts as a backup generators and is only used to trickle-charge the battery to maintain its current state of charge. https://www.levc.com/tx-electric-taxi/
It can run in 3 different modes:
1) Pure EV mode - disables the range extender, using only electric power. This consumes no petrol and produces no emissions – a very effective option for inner-city driving. If the battery becomes depleted, an indicator advises the driver to select a different driving mode. This mode is only available when the battery has sufficient charge.
2) Smart mode - is the default operating mode which operates TX in the most efficient way by depleting the battery as much as possible before engaging the range extender. In this mode the vehicle intuitively activities the range extender as the battery charge decreases, particularly if driving at higher speeds where pure-electric propulsion is less efficient.
3) Save mode - in this mode the vehicle only uses the range extender so as to conserve the battery’s charge at its current level. By using ‘Save’ mode, drivers with a commute to the city could reserve their battery energy for emission-free driving in the city.
There will still be some emission when using the range extender but if used properly the emissions from a TX should be much less than a normal petrol hybrid or a Euro VI diesel taxi. It wouldn’t be cost effective for a driver to use the save mode (range extender) for general driving around the city so hopefully that would be enough of a deterrent and ensure they were using it as intended (in pure EV or smart mode).
The following vehicles are also now available to order as they will require a conversion to be wheelchair accessible:
EV wheelchair taxi based on Nissan eNV-200 Combi (100% electric).
EV wheelchair taxi based on Peugeot e-Traveller L3-SF (100% electric)
https://www.tripodmobility.com/en/products/wav-wheelchair-accessible-vehicles/peugeot/peugeot-ewav/
The Mercedes eVito Tourer
https://www.gmmobility.co.uk/mercedes-evito-tourer
Electric taxi grants are available, these grants will pay for 20% of the purchase price for electric vehicles, up to a maximum of £7,500.