The London Electric Vehicle Company (LEVC) has unveiled a new vehicle architecture that strongly indicates the British manufacturer is targeting a much wider slice of the future vehicle market.
Currently LEVC builds the latest version of the iconic London ‘black cab’, the TX, and the VN5 van at its state-of-the-art factory in Coventry which opened in 2018. The similarly-sized vehicles are of similar design and both use range-extender electric/petrol powertrains.
However at a high-profile event held at the factory in May, LEVC revealed a new fully electric vehicle architecture developed with the company’s owner, Chinese automotive giant Geely. “This ‘Space Oriented Architecture’ (SOA) will transform the company from a high-end taxi manufacturer to a leading provider of pure electric global mobility solutions,” LEVC CEO Alex Nan said.
“We will turn LEVC from a UK to a worldwide brand – a global zero carbon mobility company.”
SOA is a modular platform that will be able to underpin vehicles ranging from 4.9 to almost 6.0 metres in length with wheelbases from 3.0 to 3.8 metres. It will support front, rear and all-wheel drivetrains, and battery packs from 73kWh to 120kWh, giving vehicles using the platform potential ranges of more than 500km. Two versions have been unveiled, described as ‘premium’ (potentially aimed at passenger car use) and ‘commercial’.
Optimising the electric platform
LEVC’s design team has prioritised freeing up more space in vehicles using the new platform. The battery pack is of a more compact design mounted under the floor between the wheels and the onboard charging has been placed above it, moved from its traditional position ahead of the front wheels.
Doing this allows short overhangs ahead and behind the wheels, increasing interior space, and also improves safety, adding more crush space to the front of the vehicle. According to LEVC chief architecture engineer, Kent Bovellan, any vehicles using the platform should score NCAP five-star ratings. The company’s crash internal tests routinely achieving 85% protection rates, well above the 76% required for a five-star rating.
The design of the platform produces a completely flat floor, a vehicle built on the platform able to accommodate up to four rows of seats on the same sliding rail, plus a fifth row that can fold completely flat into the floor. Other technical innovations include in the premium version moving the suspension springs 70% closer to the wheels than is the norm, reducing intrusion into the passenger space and increasing load capacity by 25%.
Alongside the physical platform, LEVC has developed new digital electronics technology which is ready to accommodate the pace of future mobility development, from autonomous vehicles to intelligent cockpits. Dubbed L-OS, the technology is said to offer huge computing power, bringing new levels of driver assistance to the market and offering a host of electronic and connected features to users of the vehicles.
New direction – but which way?
LEVC has stated that the first vehicle built on a SOA platform will be a completely new model that will launch the company into new markets and will be built alongside the existing taxi and van. However, the company’s leaders were careful not to reveal what markets the company intends to enter.
“Today is not about ‘which products when’ on this platform, it’s about demonstrating a new foundation that is layering on top of our existing products to enable us to start moving into those sectors,” Nan said.
“It’s about the platform giving us the freedom to start thinking towards what we are going to do, rather than specifics – that’s the next exciting phase which will be about what are the right products in the right markets for us. They might not have the heritage our current products do but we have a lot of capabilities in this business, across the supply chain that support our products and it’s about finding the right new products to take them.”
Vague silhouettes shown during the technical presentation suggested that the vehicle possibilities for SOA could range from small cars to mid-sized commercial vehicles, the enhanced load space offered by the platform certainly making the production of a van of Ford Transit size or above an attractive option. Sources close to the company have indicated that entering the passenger car market is in LEVC’s plans.
Both the TX taxi and VN5 van have proven a success, and the number of LEVC range-extender taxis working in London now outnumbers traditional diesel versions. But the Coventry factory is not currently close to its quoted annual capacity of 20,000 vehicles, while LEVC has reserved status on plots adjacent to the plant.
Nan admitted that the company does have “pretty big” ambitions. “To show this sort of span that takes you from passenger and luxury consumer vehicles all the way through business into utility and delivery vehicles – you are covering a big space in a single platform.
“That’s why it’s so exciting, it’s given us that flexibility, not just constrained in one area – we have a complete platform that we can adapt and which satisfies the BEV market, with ranges are over 500km. This is technology that answers questions and we now need to decide where we want to take it.”
