Taxi maker LEVC confirms eight-seat luxury MPV for UK

LEVC, the maker of the London taxi, will launch a luxurious, eight-seat electric MPV in the UK within the next two years. 

It's called the L380 in reference to the Airbus A380, the world's largest airliner, and is the first vehicle based on the Geely-owned firm's new Space-Oriented Architecture (SOA).

It was already confirmed to go on sale in markets outside of China, where it has now entered production, but LEVC has now added a UK version will arrive by 2026.

Capable of hosting EVs ranging between 4.86m and 5.95m in length, the SOA platform is designed to optimise interior space, ease of access, rolling refinement and range - and will underpin a range of large commercial and passenger vehicles separate from the UK-built TX taxi and VN5 van.

Details published by Chinese media suggest the L380 measures 5316mm long, 1998mm wide and 1940mm tall and weighs 2805kg.

Its eight seats are arranged across four rows of two, with the rearmost able to be folded and stowed and the third row able to slide back and forth to boost leg room.

A more luxurious six-seater, no doubt with the requisite equipment and functionality to rival the new Lexus LM, will also be offered.

LEVC will confirm full technical details next year, but early reports suggest the L380 will be offered with the same 268bhp front-mounted motor as the technically related EM90 MPV from sibling brand Volvo and a choice of either a 73kWh or 120kWh battery for a maximum range of 432 miles.

LEVC has confirmed that the SOA platform will underpin EVs with more than 536bhp from a dual-motor, four-wheel-drive powertrain, but it hasn't yet said whether the L380 will offer a choice of outputs.