LEVC TX: Number 5,000 is an inclusion taxi

A Berlin taxi operator has put his PHEV London taxi into service as an inclusion taxi in light ivory. Serkan Demir has been an independent taxi operator in the big city of Berlin, struggling with wheelchair-accessible taxis, for five years. Unlike many entrepreneurs, he now shows courage and acquired the first "inclusion taxi" type LEVC TX with a plug-in hybrid electric drive and range-extender motor, funded by the Berlin Senate. The British manufacturer and Jörg Hofmann, chairman of its management, are also delighted about this. They celebrate this taxi as the 5,000th model of its kind, which has been built in a new factory in Coventry since January 2018.

The fewest of them roll in light ivory. In this country, they are mainly used in colorful outfits as part of on-demand concepts on behalf of municipal transport companies, with only three taxi operators in Karlsruhe, Krefeld, and Melsungen participating as partners.

According to LEVC, the taxi operator plans to offer a service for private customers, business customers, and wheelchair users with his battery-electric seven-seater. Due to the accessibility of his inclusion taxi, he aims to closely collaborate with local clinics and health services. He can offer them the transportation of wheelchair passengers with the easily hand-operated folding ramp.

The entrepreneur also finds attractive the built-in partition with an intercom from the driver to the passenger area that comes as standard in the LEVC TX. With an electric range of up to 101 kilometers and an overall range of up to 510 kilometers using the three-cylinder gasoline engine, he feels equipped for longer journeys as well.

For his electric taxi, Serkan Demir can claim federal funding of 5,625 euros through the Federal Office of Economics and Export Control (BAFA). Additionally, he receives a further 15,000 euros subsidy through the "Inclusion Taxi" funding program, which is only available in Berlin.

The 5,000th LEVC TX was delivered via the Berlin dealer Koch. He is still known in the Berlin taxi industry from a time when he held a strong position in the local taxi market with a dedicated taxi team and the Mazda brand. Dittmar Michelsen was then responsible for supporting the dealers in taxi matters in Leverkusen. A long time ago...