Black cabs go green with low-emission electric model

London is to get its first "clean" electric black cab.

Manganese Bronze, maker of the famous TX4, has signed a deal with electric vehicle specialist Tanfield to develop the battery-powered taxi.

The all-electric zero-emission cab - to be branded the TX4E - will have a top speed of 50mph. It will have a range of more than 100 miles after just one overnight charge from an electric socket and will be designed for daily use in congested, inner-city areas.

Today Manganese Bronze, which is based in the Midlands, said the new cab would have all the conventional features of the TX4 but would be powered by Tanfield's advanced iron phosphate lithium-ion battery pack.

Although it will sell above the TX4's current £34,000 asking price, its maker said it would cost 4p a mile to run, a significant saving over the diesel model. It will go on sale next year.

Darren Kell, Tanfield chief executive, said: "We can offer a truly global product that answers many of the issues raised by urban private passenger transport - rising fuel costs, air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions."

Cab driver Steve McNamara, who writes for the Taxi newspaper, said: "An electric cab will be far quieter than a diesel one. There is a lot of noise pollution in London and this will help solve it."