A few days ago, Geely executives released a set of images of the new car, which shows the LEVC L380, a strange-looking MPV, and the name of the vehicle is borrowed from the Airbus A380, which is intended to imply that the car will be a wide-body land business class, and the vehicle will be available in two series: three and eight seats.
It's strange, it seems that there has not been a three-seater MPV so far, but there has been an eight-seater; in the popular brand, there used to be an eight-seater version of Mercedes-Benz Vito, and most of the MPVs of other brands are mainly six-seater and seven-seater, and the customized version will be four-seater.
So the LEVC L380 does look a little different, let's take a look at the pictures first.
Judging from the exterior characteristics of the vehicle, it is indeed an MPV, but the rear overhang is too long, and the angle of the A-pillar and the short nose are also a little different from the mainstream model. Rather than saying that this car is an MPV, I personally think it is more like a VAN, that is, a van; the passenger version of this model is generally called a "light bus", if you look at this car from the perspective of a light bus, it is not surprising to use a three-seater. The three-seat layout of the light passenger car is very special, the main driver's seat remains the same, and the co-pilot's seat becomes a row of double seats; of course, the middle armrest can also be integrated with the seat, folding flat is the armrest, and lifting it is the seat, Geely Automobile has also issued a design patent for special seats before.
Therefore, this car is more like the "Great Sea Lion" of Toyota, Jinbei, Golden Brigade and other brands that are mainly used for commercial use, and it is a model mainly used for business commuting, and it is indeed closer to light passenger in terms of function.
What brand is LEVC, what does Geely Automobile have to do with it, and why should it build a model that is biased towards commercial use?
These are three questions, let's answer the first one first.
Question 1:
LEVC is a London-based electric vehicle company formerly known as the "London Taxi Company", which Geely Automobile wholly acquired in 2013 and changed its name in 2017. The company is a well-known and long-established taxi company, and it also tried to build cars before it was acquired by Geely Automobile, but the models it built were still focused on taxi market applications.
Question 2:
The company was of course able to take control of the company after being acquired by Geely Holding Group, and the company's business could not be limited to taxi operations, which was not what Geely needed, so LEVC began to expand its business and began to gradually build commercial vehicles such as taxis and vans, the most well-known of which was the TX5, which is a retro-style MPV.
Question 3:
Since LEVC's previous business was taxi operation, and the models it built were also taxis, the vehicles built by the company were naturally commercial, and the reason why the overall style of the LEVC L380 was light passenger may also be related to its needs and layout in overseas markets, and the brand may really launch standard light passenger or electric trucks in the future.
All in all, the LEVC L380 is an MPV that looks a little awkward, but it certainly doesn't have to be bad in terms of practicality, and its body size is expected to meet the standard of a mid-axle or short-axle light bus. This car can be regarded as Geely's "British style commercial vehicle", and whether it can become a hit in the end depends on the price.
Tianhe Auto editor, welcome to retweet the comments