Veezu has strengthened two of its five major UK hubs by acquiring local competitors in Shropshire and South Wales, and the company is targeting further takeovers in 2021. Go Carz, Shropshire’s largest private hire and taxi firm, has taken over Telford’s Diamond Cars, adding 270 vehicles and creating a 650-strong fleet of licensed vehicles in…

Two major Glasgow operators have merged to form the biggest taxi and private hire fleet in the city. The combined Glasgow Private Hire and Hampden Cars operations will be known as GlasGO Cabs and will operate more than 1,000 cars. Both companies have been operating in the city for more than 20 years. GlasGO Cabs…

Fast-growing Take Me Group has made a second acquisition in a week, with the purchase of Westside Taxis of Crewe. Under the deal, Westside proprietor Stephen Robinson (left of pic) has sold his business to Take Me directors John Gardner (right of pic) and David Hunter. Unlike most of Take Me’s acquisitions, this deal is…

Ride-hailing rent-to-buy provider WeFlex has ordered 200 MG5 electric estate cars, which it plans to existing and would-be ride hailing drivers by the end of 2021. WeFlex, founded by former Climatecars boss Nicko Williamson, announced last month that it was repositioning itself as a 100% electric vehicle supplier, and it plans to supply more than…

Fast-growing taxi group Take Me Group has made another acquisition, adding Stoke-on-Trent-based Intercity Taxis to the roster in a deal worth between £3 million and £4m. The deal is again backed by MBH Corporation plc, a diversified investment holding company, which has based its transport portfolio around the former ADT operation in Leicester, run by…

WeFlex, which supplies cars to private hire drivers on a rent-to-buy basis, has switched to supplying only battery-electric cars. The company has announced a rebrand to coincide with the change in strategy, with a new green ‘lightning bolt’ logo. WeFlex was founded by former Climatecars boss Nicko Williamson. Climatecars was a pioneering “green” private hire…

Mercedes-Benz has released details of its much-anticipated EQS model – the first all-electric luxury chauffeur car to hit the market. The EQS goes on sale in late summer, and at that time, UK pricing and specification will be announced, ahead of first UK deliveries, which are expected before the end of the year. It’s expected…

Hyundai Motor formed a strategic partnership with Uber in Europe that will offer Uber drivers discounted prices on its Ioniq Electric and Kona Electric (pictured), as well as future Hyundai electric vehicles. The agreement is another step in Uber’s plan to become a zero-emission mobility platform by 2030. Last year it announced a similar arrangement…

Nottingham’s DG Cars, one of the strongest-performing private hire fleets over the past 12 months thanks to its strong diversification into the delivery market, has made a major acquisition in Lichfield, in partnership with another major fleet, 247 Cars of Walsall. The two companies have jointly acquired City Cars Lichfield, in an innovative deal that…

Manchester’s largest private hire operator, StreetCars, has acquired local competitor ScottsCars, based in Hale, adding a further 200 cars to its fleet. The move, the latest sign of consolidation in the private hire sector as it starts to recover from the Covid-19 crisis, increases the dominance of multiple QSiAward-winning Street Cars in the local market.…

Ride-hailing operator Bolt has launched operations in Peterborough. London’s second-largest ride hailing app, behind Uber, Bolt said its plan was to bring greener transport to the city. So far almost 200 drivers have signed up in Peterborough, and the firm hopes the number will grow in the future. Sam Raciti, Bolt general manager – UK…

Electric car infrastructure provider Swarco eVolt has won a contract from Cardiff Capital Region (CCR) to install rapid chargers dedicated to taxi users at 31 locations across 10 local authorities in south-east Wales. The deal will also help the Welsh Government meet its target for zero emissions from taxis by 2028. The installation work is…

Taxi and private hire licence holders in Bolton will each receive a £700 Covid-19 support scheme after the local borough council approved a support scheme for those hit hardest by the pandemic. The council confirmed that the scheme will provide licence-holders with a payment of £700 to meet a range of vehicle-associated costs. The announcement…

Mercedes-Benz has released images of the interior of its forthcoming EQS battery-electric chauffeur saloon, which will go on sale in August. The EQS is produced alongside the new S-Class and the Mercedes-Maybach S-Class in Mercedes’ new carbon-neutral ‘Factory 56’ at Sindelfingen, Stuttgart, the company’s most modern automotive plant. The EQS will look different to the…

In a landmark ruling, the Competition and Markets Authority has cleared Uber’s acquisition of Autocab following a Phase 1 merger investigation, stating that it found “no competition concerns” with the deal. The takeover allows Uber to grow its UK presence through the Autocab iGo network, allowing it to pass jobs to Autocab users in towns…

Uber customers in central London can request an all-electric vehicle instead of a regular petrol, diesel or hybrid car. The ride-hailing giant has launched a new service called Uber Green, operating initially in London’s Zone 1 travelcard area.  It is the next step in Uber’s stated plan to be fully electric in London by 2025.…

Car hire giant Europcar has ended its venture into the UK executive chauffeur and private hire market by selling its Brunel operations to the Travelhire Group for an undisclosed sum. It is the second major acquisition for Travelhire, which bought Green Tomato Cars in 2019, making it a major player in the London private hire…

Blacklane has raised $26 million in new funding to help it expand its global chauffeur service. The Berlin-based company has recently launched an app-based ride-hailing service add-on, and in February 2021 it bought London-based Havn, an electric chauffeur service developed by Jaguar Land Rover. Blacklane said it would use the latest round of funding to…