The world’s leading car manufacturers are increasingly interested in the taxi, chauffeur and private hire market and recognize the potential this market has to promote the cars of the future, as a car with a driver or a Executive car service driver spend 70% or more of his life on the roads of cities like London compared to private car who can only spend 10% doing the same.
Mercedes Benz
The Stuttgart-based manufacturer probably has the largest market share when it comes to the chauffeur industry, be it individual operators or large executive car hire companies, and this is clearly demonstrated in cities like Paris, Berlin and London, which is the largest market for drivers in Europe. . There’s a new kid on the block in the form of the S250 that will return 50mpg but this isn’t slated for the UK driver’s market. However, a Mercedes Benz S-Class that’s already in the company’s chauffeur program will get a new engine efficiency package that will further improve the MPG readings of the driver-favorite Mercedes Benz S350L CDI BlueEfficiency.
Audi
Like Mercedes Benz on the London chauffeur market with the long wheelbase Audi A8 and the Audi Q7 4X4 SUV, which is the newest addition to the UK chauffeur program of Audi, the third-largest German executive car manufacturer and Luxury returns to compete with the first manufacturer of this type of luxury car in the form of the new 4-door coupes that even VW has begun to produce.
The Audi A7 will be a direct threat to the new Mercedes Benz CLS, which is projected to be a more successful chauffeured car than its predecessor. This remains to be seen, as rear legroom and headroom are not yet equal to the Mercedes Benz S-Class.
Volkswagen, Seat and Skoda
Even the London market for minicabs and car service companies had its fair share of new vehicles suitable for the professional driver. Seat, VW and Skoda apparently compete with vehicles that have good MPG performance and up to 7 years warranty, making them a very attractive option for use as a minicab in London and as a taxi in the rest of the UK.
Lotus
The British manufacturer of sports and performance cars may have been the biggest surprise at this year’s Paris Motor Show. Following in the footsteps of other sports car and executive car manufacturers such as Porsche, Aston Martin and Maserati, we now find another possible London chauffeured car in the form of the Lotus Eterne. What remains to be seen is what price it will retail for and if the figures add up to being worth putting on UK roads as a chauffeur-driven hire car.