Taxi

Toyota has been developing an electric Hilux pickup in Thailand for over a year, and the prototype has now been turned into a slick, little passenger-mover. Like a classic Land Cruiser Troopy, the new mini-bus seats two rows of passengers in back.

Chinese tech giant Baidu has released its 6th gen, production-ready electric robotaxi, the Apollo RT6. Set to go into service in 2023, the RT6 represents the first of a new generation of autonomous taxis designed to drive ride costs into the ground.

Baidu has partnered with EV maker Arcfox, part of China's state-owned BAIC Group, to accelerate the commercialization of fully autonomous ride-hailing services, and to jointly release the latest version of the Apollo robotaxi.

After joining forces with Alibaba's Amap to pilot robo-taxi ride-hailing services in April, and then opening the service to the Shanghai public, AutoX has now launched the first fully driverless fleet in China's Shenzhen megacity.

Back in April, AutoX teamed up with Alibaba's Amap mobility platform to make robo-taxis available to Shanghai ride-hailers. But only a limited group of users could access the pilot program. Now AutoX and Amap have opened the service up to the public.

Autonomous driving tech company AutoX has partnered with the Alibaba Group's Amap mobility platform to offer folks in Shanghai the option to hail a ride in an AutoX RoboTaxi.

​When they're not ferrying folks around from A to B, taxis can be sitting around doing nothing. Electric taxis in Norway's capital will soon be able to wirelessly top up their batteries while waiting for their next fare.​

Festival goers in Finland will be able to get around in an i3 electric taxi using song as fare payment. The Singalong Shuttle will operate at the Ruisrock festival between July 6 and 8, and is the brainchild of clean energy firm Fortum.

The Iguana amphibious seven-seat taxi​ incorporates the signature retractable caterpillar tracks, at the same time as adding an adjustable retractable hardtop and shock-mitigating seats​ to complete the most civilized amphibious vehicle on the planet.

​Last July, the London EV Company unveiled an electric makeover for the iconic London black cab. The TX eCity taxi was certified to carry passengers in the UK's capital last month and the first vehicle out of the dealership has now been handed over to a London cabby.​

​After unveiling a hybrid version of the iconic London cab back in July, LEVC has confirmed that the "the world's most advanced electric taxi" is now fully certified to pick up fares in the UK's capital. Cabbies can expect to get in the driving seat of the TX eCity taxi later this month.

Toyota has unveiled the JPN Taxi concept for the Tokyo Motor Show, using a liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and electric drivetrain to achieve 19.4 km/l (45.6 mpg, 5.51 l/100km). Safety equipment is also a big part of this new taxi model. It will enter Japanese dealerships immediately.