Ex-Aussie auto bosses tag-team at British taxi company

The most controversial leader in the history of Audi Australia is now selling plug-in taxis in Britain.

And Joerg Hofmann took the top job at the London Electric Vehicle Company (LEVC) from Chris Gubbey, who was the shortest ever serving chief of Holden.

Hofmann (pictured here at right) has been the chief of the London cab-maker since February when Gubbey retired, following a career at Audi that took him back from Australia to a senior sales post at home in Germany.

He became known as the ‘tank commander’ in Australia, after bragging that he earned his tank driving license during national service in Germany’s alpine corps, and pushed everything from sales targets to the then-new ‘terminal’ style of Audi dealerships.

Gubbey's short tenure in Australia in 2007 was down to GM parachuting Mark Reuss, who went on to become president of GM and global head of product, into Australia to sort troubles at the company and write a survival plan.

Ironically, the end of the Reuss plan left Holden without a viable manufacturing future and he was one of the executive team at GM in Detroit that was responsible for pulling the plug on the Commodore.

The pair's common link at London Electric comes as it pushes a new approach to the classic ‘black cab’ under the ownership of China’s Geely, unveiling a new electric TX Shuttle (pictured) at the Frankfurt motor show, following its UK reveal in June.

It is based on its electric TX Taxi and featuring the same eCity Technology, combining 129km of zero-emissions running with range-extended flexibility up to 607km, in a package that is also suitable for delivery vans.

It carries up to six passengers, has charging points for mobile phones and laptops, onboard Wi-Fi and a panoramic roof, which London Electric says will be ideal for on-demand public transport and taxi services.

“The time is right for a new green mobility provider. Cities are faced with ever-growing populations and the challenge of air quality,” says Hofmann.

“With our zero-emission TX Taxi, TX Shuttle and LCV, we can change the way people and goods are moved around an urban area.”

Of the 2500-plus TX Taxis sold in the UK and Europe, there are around 1700 in London, partly due to the introduction of the Low Emission Zone at the centre of the city, which was tightened to become the Ultra-Low Emission Zone in April.

The company’s success has been more modest elsewhere, including Down Under where London Taxi Co, as it was formerly named, announced an $80 million dollar deal to supply up to 1000 black cabs over a decade to Australia and New Zealand in 2016, before the 2017 reveal of the plug-in hybrid version to replace the original TX4 diesel.

But Hofmann sees major demand for the iconic London black cab, which has been reborn as “the world’s most advanced zero-emission taxi”, not just in the UK but in many export markets.

“LEVC has already identified sales opportunities across Germany, Denmark and France adding to LEVC’s current markets of Norway, Sweden, Hong Kong and Malaysia and fitting with LEVC’s aim to have fleets of TXs in major cities around the world by 2024,” Hofmann says.

Geely Automobile bought LEVC out of bankruptcy in 2013 and, since then, Gubbey and Hofmann are its most high-profile CEOs.

Gubbey stepped down in favour of Hofmann in February after a long motor industry career, firstly at Ford and Toyota but then for many years with General Motors.

Hofmann is not making any of the bold predictions that marked his time in Australia from 2004 to 2009, when he predicted that Audi would eventually overtake BMW and Mercedes-Benz to become prestige market leader Down Under, and drove the company to massive -- but ultimately unsustainable -- sales growth.

He drove sales from around 3500 cars in 2004 to as high as 11,000, with double-digit growth every year, but since then the company has been wracked by a range of troubles. Current CEO, Paul Sansom, says he is aiming more for profitability than big numbers as Audi is parked permanently in third place on the luxury scoreboard.

But Hofmann, who’s married with four children, is now focussed on Europe, taxis and electrification.

“Our overall growth strategy is supported by export sales into new markets together with a new range of products. Our goal is to be the leading European green commercial mobility solution provider and I have every confidence we will achieve that ambition,” he says.

Said LEVC chairman Carl-Peter Forster of Hofmann’s appointment earlier this year: “We’re delighted to announce the appointment of Joerg Hofmann who will bring not only significant sales, product, manufacturing and operational experience but fresh energy and perspective as LEVC builds on the success of its TX eCity launch and focuses on the next phase of its journey to deliver its new product strategy.”