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GM Authority

What If GM Got Into The Taxi Cab Business?

Last month’s talk about dedicated Chevrolet taxi vehicles in certain international markets like Colombia got us wondering whether GM should offer vehicles for taxi fleets in other markets, such as the United States.

Not Unprecedented

The idea of a taxi from one of GM’s divisions or brands is not without precedent.

The automaker currently offers two taxi-specific models in Colombia, a market in which Chevrolet remains one of the best-selling automotive brands.

2018 Chevrolet Sail Taxi Premium - Colombia - Exterior 003

2018 Chevrolet Sail Taxi Premium in Colombia

In addition, The General’s former European unit, Opel-Vauxhall, offered factory-built taxi models while it was still owned by GM. Among other models, some of the most recent models offered as taxis were the Vivaro-based Voyager MPV as well as the Insignia Sports Tourer.

Opel Insignia taxi

Opel Insignia Sports Tourer taxi

The Fleet Environment

Fleet vehicle sales account for a not-insignificant portion of GM sales volume. In the U.S. market, The General’s fleet sales have hovered around the 20 percent mark over the past couple of years. The number was higher before the automaker strategically weaned itself off sales to daily rental companies.

2018 Chevrolet Tahoe PPV Features First-in-Class Active Safety T

2018 Chevrolet Tahoe PPV

GM currently offers most of its lineup to fleet buyers, but it does make some vehicles available exclusively to fleet customers, including police cars and trucks such as the Chevy Tahoe PPV and Caprice PPV (which was recently discontinued), livery vehicles such as the Cadillac XTS and Escalade that are part of the Cadillac Professional Vehicles range, as well as other forms of commercial models like the Chevrolet Express Cargo and Express Passenger vans.

With a rather decent portfolio of vehicles for the police, one, two or even three models modified specifically for taxi duty from the factory wouldn’t be very difficult nor expensive, while potentially proving to be quite lucrative for GM’s bottom line.

2011 Chevrolet Caprice PPV 9C1

2011 Chevrolet Caprice PPV was discontinued in 2017

The Ideal Taxi

The ideal taxi would be a very simple boxy car that makes maximum use of interior space with absolutely zero focus on design flair. After all, the name of the game is practicality and spaciousness for people and their cargo. And in that regard, what’s more practical or spacious than a box on wheels van?

And that’s where GM is in a bit of a jam.

2018 Chevrolet City Express Sunglow Yellow exterior color GTP

Chevrolet discontinued the Nissan-sourced City Express compact cargo van in July 2018

What Would GM Offer?

If GM were to build out their fleet offerings specific in the taxi market, we can almost be certain that it would be a Chevrolet, as the automaker continues to position GMC as a premium-level brand. For instance, GMC never got a variant of the three most recent Chevy fleet-focused models – the City Express, the Isuzu-based Low Cab Forward, or the upcoming Silverado Medium Duty trucks. So, Chevy is in, GMC is out.

But having discontinued the aforementioned Nissan-sourced City Express in July 2018, GM no longer has a compact van at its disposal to use as a taxi. Truth be told, GM never really took the vehicle nor the segment seriously. In fact, the automaker continues to turn a blind eye towards the large and rather profitable compact van space.

2017 Chevrolet Express Passenger Exterior 001

2017 Chevrolet Express 2500 Passenger Van (regular wheelbase)

The only other van offering Chevy has is the Express. But even the archaic full-size van, which has been on the market for almost two decades, is no longer offered as a 1500 model that’s ideal for passenger transportation, which is to say that the 2500 or 3500 level models are overkill for the purpose of transporting people (rather than cargo). But for the sake of this argument, let’s imagine that GM were to offer the two following Chevrolet Express models as taxis:

  • Express 2500 regular wheelbase, which is capable of seating 11 passengers (not counting the driver), and
  • Express 3500 extended wheelbase, which is capable of seating 14 passengers (not counting the driver)
2017 Chevrolet Express Passenger Interior 002

The regular wheelbase form, the 2017 Chevrolet Express 2500 Passenger Van can seat 11 passengers (not including the driver)

If it were to go that way, we can’t imagine that any of the motors offered in the Express would make it an efficient taxi. That’s because the van is already quite portly to begin with, while offering the following engine lineup:

  • Base 4.3L V6 LV1 EcoTec3 gasoline engine making 276 horsepower and 298 pound-feet of torque
  • Optional 6.0L V8 L96 Vortec gasoline engine making 341 horsepower and 373 pound-feet of torque (also available as a gaseous CNG/LPG capable version with hardened valves and valve seats, assigned RPO code LC8)
  • Optional 2.8L I4 LWN Duramax turbo-diesel making 181 horsepower and 369 pound-feet of torque
2017 Chevrolet Express Passenger Exterior 002

2017 Chevrolet Express 2500 Passenger Van (regular wheelbase)

Outside of the Express passenger van, GM could also offer the Chevy Malibu and Impala for taxi duty. Those options would be much more fuel efficient than a gargantuan van, while also catering to different needs of a taxi fleet customer.

Whatever form it would take, it’s not difficult to imagine a hypothetical Chevrolet taxi offering GM’s trademark in-car Wi-Fi that would be used to power the taxi’s payment system, while also providing passengers with internet access, while USB ports would provide charging capabilities.

2017 Chevrolet Malibu - Exterior - South Korea 004

2017 Chevrolet Malibu

Bigger picture options could include a divider between the driver and passenger, along with fleet paint colors (like traditional taxi cab yellow) along with various graphics. Durable seating for the passengers would be key, as would equally durable yet comfortable seating for the driver. Since GM already produces police cars with these features, neither item should be prohibitive to bring to market.

Meanwhile, GM’s existing fleet offerings pave the way in offering more durable cooling equipment along with longer term warranties.

Put all that together, and it’s clear that GM could create quite the attractive taxi cab fleet.

2016 Chevrolet Impala Exterior 002

2018 Chevrolet Impala

But Does It Even Matter?

Perhaps the more pertinent question is whether it would even make sense for GM to enter the taxi cab game at a time when ride hailing services like Uber and Lyft continue to grow in popularity. Coincidentally, GM already made an attempt to provide Lyft drivers with access to its vehicles for the purpose of using them for Lyft duty, but the effort dissipated as quickly as GM’s partnership with the ride sharing start-up, in which GM continues to have a noteworthy stake.

In that regard, as upscale livery services employing vehicles like Cadillac XTS and Escalade are fairing the storm of ride shares, the more mainstream market for taxi cabs appears to be a dwindling proposition.

2016 Cadillac XTS Professional Vehicles 02

2016 Cadillac Professional Vehicle lineup includes the XTS (middle), XTS stretch limo (front) and Escalade (back)

The GM Authority Take

Though the likelihood of GM getting into the purpose-built taxi market looks rather slim, the automaker does have the necessary assets – either in its parts bin or in quick development order – to be fairly successful in the taxi space. Even so, the idea isn’t without hurdles.

First, GM seems to be more focused on becoming a high-margin organization that prioritizes actual profit over sheer market share and production volumes. That much is evident during its (oh-so-infrequent) sales releases (see GM sales) and earnings reports (see GM earnings). To that end, the taxi cab space might deliver significant increases in sales volume, but at rather thin margins – which isn’t that attractive to GM’s current leadership. In addition, the taxi cab game could be counterproductive to GM’s efforts of increasing the residual and resale values of the vehicles it does sell to the public.

GM Renaissance Center Night Time - GM Ren Cen - Winter 2016 005

Moreover, the taxi game doesn’t seem to jive with GM’s own mobility initiatives, namely Maven and whatever the automaker’s rumored e-bike service ends up being called (potentially Maven Verity or MELD). GM seems to be in full favor of vehicle sharing… and not so much into traditional taxi services – though we don’t see why it can’t supply cars for both.

Ultimately, the decision of whether or not to enter the taxi cab segment is one that GM’s upper management would have to examine, though we must wonder if the opportunity had crossed their minds.

Seeing how GM already produces taxis for other markets, what are your thoughts on GM entering the taxi fleet market in full force in North America – its biggest and most profitable market? Take our poll and sound off in the comments below.

GM Authority Executive Editor with a passion for business strategy and fast cars.

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Comments

  1. The Volt. A lot of cab drivers spend time sitting, they could spend that time at a charging station. And even when out of juice the gas cycle generator is still efficient.

    Reply
    1. The Volt would work, but it’s about 50% more expensive to purchase compared to some of the other options… like a Cruze. Now if we could get a Volt at the price point of a Cruze… that would be something.

      Reply
  2. GM has been into the domestic taxi business before. In 1925, GMC produced Taxi cars for Yellow Cab of Chicago, as I recall.
    In the 1950’s, Chevrolet had a Taxi BUSINESS SO STRONG THAT THERE WAS A TAXI ASSEMBLY PLANT near NYC. So, there is a history of Taxi’s in the GM world. The durability of the Tahoe (and safety) and the ability to carry 4 passengers, 4X4 seems the most logical to me for north America.

    Reply
  3. Bolt is the perfect taxi / Lyft vehicle, but I think this type of fleet dilutes the brand line. Look what it has done to prius in LA and Mercedes in Europe.

    Reply
    1. There are ways to mitigate this. You can have the last generation model reserved for taxi fleets.

      That said, the reputations of Mercedes and the Prous are quite strong in the markets you mentioned, though they are full of taxis… but that doesn’t seem to have impacted real world desirability or sales performance.

      Reply
      1. The Bolt EV would be perfect, but only its range won’t last through the entire day for most full-time taxi duties. Most taxi fleets operate the same cab in three 7-hour shifts throughout the day, leaving the remaking three hours per car for maintenance and cleanup. The bolt, in its current form, wouldn’t last a 7-hour shift, I’m afraid.

        Reply
  4. The days of seeing a sea of hundreds of yellow impala’s in NYC. will never be seen again.

    You see many Nissan NV200 taxi’s and Kia Sedona’s. Ford has the Transit Connect and Dodge ProMaster city small panel vans that would make great taxis. I don’t think GM offers any kind of small commercial van. The Orlando would probably be the best cross-over in a low price range.

    Reply
    1. That’s correct. As I mentioned in the article, GM has no small commercial van. It doesn’t seem to have one in development either, at least as far as I know.

      Reply
  5. An Alpha–based Impala with 2.5 n/a power.

    Reply
  6. Develop a 9C1 / 9C6 package for the Impala. For heavy duty use, certainly a suspension upgrade is needed and maybe ride height and full size spare tire requirement

    Reply
  7. Cost eliminates most EV vehicles or Volt.

    The three cars that defined the Taxi was the Desoto, Checker and Impala. These were large durable cars that were relatively cheap to buy and maintain. They could carry loads few cars today can carry.

    The primary cargo is people but often a taxi is call on for large amounts of cargo to be carried. Most of today’s cars will not carry much in the way of luggage.

    GM realistically would need to look to the Nox, Blazer or the three row Blazer that is coming.

    These would be stripped down models modified for daily beatings with service interiors and HD parts where needed.

    The key is to lower the cost and increase the durability for city driving like they do with other service vehicles.

    In time when cost come down we may see EV but not till the cost come down.

    Most taxi fleets now are imported mini vans or old police cars refurbished to be taxis. One has room and the other is cheap to buy and repair. If someone could combine both.

    My real solution would be to buy AM General and use them to build a durable fleet vehicle that could be a taxi or fitted to be a postsal vehicle.

    Could even upgrade it to make a police version to challange the Explorer pursuit. .

    Reply
  8. GM could try to import the updated Chevrolet Aveo look-a-likes from Ecuador and restrict the sale of them for taxi fleet operations, but they would not meet the ever evolving American safety standards. and would not very comfortable for passengers to ride in since they are classified in United States as subcompact vehicles.
    Their engines (1.5-2.0l four cyl.) are intended to be paired with a 5-speed manual transmission and pairing them with a CVT will significantly cut down on power. We can try using Chevrolet Spark or Chevrolet Cruze (turbocharged) for taxi/livery operations but Chevrolet Cruze is no longer in production and has serious engine reliability issues as well as an obsolete rear drum brake design.

    Chevrolet Malibu is used as a taxi in Las Vegas, Nevada the but the car has not been modified as a fleet vehicle with extra durable cloth seats and rubber carpets. Currently Verifone provides both the credit card reader and the tablet receiver with the internet connection for the driver/operator. Web application Curb handles taxi dispatch and doubles as a secondary meter for the passenger to use. Using GM wi-fi router/modems might not pass the rigorous data security standards plus we do not know which Internet Service Provider would be contracted to provide wireless service.
    Credit Card processing equipment is not installed on taxis in most Latin American countries as most transactions are cash-based. As far as entertainment, most people have smartphones with internet connectivity and do not need to use GM wi-fi routers.
    Another thing to consider are driver/passenger partitions. During Covid-19 numerous taxis began installing platic screens as a primitive way to protect themselves from passengers who might be coughing or sneezing. Putting a screen on Cruze would not allow the driver to recline his/her seat to a comfortable position. nor would it allow the passenger to have enough room to comfortably enter and exit the vehicle.
    Chevrolet Impala is also a great option but they are expensive to purchase and were not designed for taxi livery operations, so the driver is going to destroy the dashboard mounting the meter, trip computer [tablet with a mount and wiring] and a credit card machine, not to mention screwing a passenger partition to the headliner. The expensive leather seats or cloth seats will get soiled fast. while the nice cloth carpet would need to be washed on a monthly basis. This would add up to the operating cost of the car. Also did I mention that Chevrolet Impala is manufactured in Australia and is considered a premium luxury vehicle by rental car companies.

    By the way, used police vehicles are not that easy to fix anymore, nor the parts for them are cheap. First you would need a code scanner to shut off “Check Engine” lights “airbag” warnings and other minutiae that lights up on the instrument cluster. Then you need to find an aftermarket parts wholesaler that would not break your budget.

    Reply

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