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The maker of London's black cabs has been sold out of British hands. Coventry-based Manganese Bronze announced on Friday it is being bought by Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd., a division of Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co. of China, in a deal worth $17.5-million.

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A bus and taxi pass Big Ben on Westminster Bridge in London, March 10, 2012.KIERAN DOHERTY/Reuters

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A London taxi crosses Waterloo Bridge in London July 29, 2009.STEPHEN HIRD/Reuters

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A lit taxi sign Aug. 23, 2006.LUKE MACGREGOR/Reuters

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A security guard closes the main gate of the London Taxi Company in Coventry, central England, Oct. 22, 2012, as Manganese Bronze Holdings PLC, the maker of London’s iconic black cabs, said it had sought the appointment of administrators after talks to secure funding were unsuccessful.DARREN STAPLES/Reuters

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Workers assemble the rear part of the London Taxi’s TX4 as part of a trial operation at their new factory Aug. 29. 2008 in Fengjing, China.Eugene Hoshiko/The Associated Press

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A London taxi cab, outside Buckingham Palace, was decorated with the new logo for the British Tourist Authority after the logo’s launch Sept. 22 1997.The Associated Press

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A taxi driver with his ‘For Hire’ light on waits for a traffic light at night in central London, Nov. 26, 2007.AKIRA SUEMORI/The Associated Press

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Taxis drive slowly in protest across Tower Bridge in London, July 23, 2012. The traditional London taxis were holding a protest against not being allowed to drive in the Olympic lanes.Kirsty Wigglesworth/The Associated Press

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A taxi passes alongside one of the official Olympic lanes on a street in central London July 23, 2012.Ben Curtis/The Associated Press

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Black taxi cabs queue at a taxi rank near Paddington Station in London, March 8 2011.LUKE MACGREGOR/Reuters

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This London cab, shown in October 2004, was decorated with the lavish gold braid and scarlet trousers of the Light Brigade to mark the sesquicentennial of the cavalry’s ill-fated charge during the Crimean War.

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Black taxi cabs move forward in a queue at a taxi rank near Paddington Station, March 8 2011.LUKE MACGREGOR/Reuters

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Marmite spread is advertised on a London cab in 2002.

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A London taxi makes its way around the Seven Dials roundabout at Covent Garden in London.

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British pop group The Spice Girls perform beside a London taxi during the closing ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games Aug. 12, 2012.FABRIZIO BENSCH/Reuters

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London taxi drivers park their cabs on Parliament Square, outside the houses of Parliament, as they protest not being allowed to use the Olympic driving lanes in London, July 17, 2012.Matt Dunham/The Associated Press

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Taxis queue in rush hour traffic in London Aug. 23, 2006.LUKE MACGREGOR/Reuters

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The TX4 London cab built under a joint venture between Manganese Bronze Holdings PLC and Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd. and Shanghai Maple is unveiled during the 2007 Shanghai auto show. Geely Holding Group said Feb 1, 2013 it had bought Manganese Bronze Holding.Ng Han Guan/The Associated Press

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A lock secures the main gate of the London Taxi Company in Coventry, Oct. 22, 2012.DARREN STAPLES/Reuters

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A taxi drives in the afternoon sun in London Jan. 30, 2013.LUKE MACGREGOR/Reuters

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