In November 2014 the Metrocab was the very first zero-emission capable London taxi to be licensed by Transport for London to operate on a trial basis in the British capital.

In partnership with ComCab, Ecotive selected a handful of cabbies from the thousands that applied to drive the cabs on a day-to-day basis.

Each of our drivers had different routines, different operational requirements and covered different parts of London.

After a very successful 25 months the data and feedback we have received has exceeded our previous performance expectations.

With the trial now concluded we have had the opportunity to assess the on-the-road capabilities of the Metrocab in typical operating conditions.

The amount of fuel consumed depends heavily on driving style and the ability to facilitate off-shift plug-in charging. The trial fleet of Metrocab’s, at all speeds, operated in EV mode 75% of the time with only 25% of the time with the engine on. This is significant in terms of money saved (in comparison to diesel taxis) and environmental benefit.

The following graph demonstrates how little the Range-Extender (RE) engine was in use. The blue areas are the points of when the vehicles were operating in zero emission mode (EV). The red areas indicate when the drivers have reverted to RE Mode to re-charge the battery, the main use of the range-extender is on motorway distances.

• Ultra low carbon emissions

• Ultra Low NOx emissions emitted per cab

• No harmful Particulate Matter (PM2.5, PM10) emitted

Results from the London trial have proven the Metrocab's carbon emissions to be significantly lower in comparison to the modern diesel taxis. The Metrocab only emitting <50g/km CO2 ensures cleaner cities and less polluted air.

Throughout the entirety of the trial only 35% of the energy consumed was from the grid. No public charging infrastructure was used during the trial (only the household charger).