The London Black Cab Is Changing Again

Few vehicles are quite as instantly recognisable as the London black cab.

You can change the engine, update the technology and even rethink what powers it, but there are certain things about its shape and purpose that are difficult to mess with.

Now, however, another big change is coming.

London EV Company (LEVC) has confirmed that an entirely new generation of black cab will arrive in the UK during the second half of 2027, replacing the familiar TX that has been carrying passengers since 2018.

And while the new taxi is still some way from joining the rank, the current one is already approaching the end of the production line.

Final assembly of the existing TX is due to finish in September 2026, with LEVC's manufacturing facility preparing for its replacement.

New-vehicle production is then scheduled to begin in 2027.

That makes this a significant moment for a vehicle that has become an increasingly familiar sight well beyond London.

Introduced in 2018, More than 12,000 TX taxis have since been sold worldwide, according to LEVC.

Owners of existing TXs needn't interpret the end of production as the end of support, either. LEVC's aftermarket and aftersales operations will continue providing parts, servicing and technical support once assembly finishes.

So, What Will the New Black Cab Be Like? For now, that's where LEVC is being rather coy.

What we do know is that this isn't simply planned as a facelift for the TX.

LEVC says the next-generation taxi is being engineered from the ground up to meet Transport for London's Metropolitan Conditions of Fitness, the requirements applying to taxis licensed to operate in the capital.

In other words, expect something that still very obviously looks and behaves like a London taxi, just brought forward for another generation.

The black cab isn't an ordinary passenger vehicle. It is a working commercial vehicle and, at the same time, something of a British design icon.

London's taxis have a job to do all day, every day, so practicality, durability and accessibility matter just as much as what a new model looks like outside.

There is also the environmental side of the equation.

LEVC says the outgoing TX has prevented more than 450 million kilograms of CO2 from entering the atmosphere and contributed to a 60% reduction in emissions from London's taxi fleet.

The interesting thing about the next black cab, then, might not be whether it looks radically different.

It may be how much changes where we can't immediately see it.

Taxi drivers need vehicles capable of coping with intensive commercial use, while passengers expect accessibility, comfort and increasingly cleaner journeys.

LEVC has the additional challenge of delivering all of that without designing something Londoners no longer recognise as a black cab.

Whatever happens underneath the bonnet, there's a fair chance people will still expect to be able to spot one from halfway down the street.