Nissan NV200 chosen as NYC’s ‘Taxi of Tomorrow’

Cars
By Wire reports
May 13, 2011
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New York is “hailing” a new era of urban mobility today, as the city with the nation’s largest taxi fleet has selected Nissan to design and supply the next-generation “Taxi of Tomorrow.” The announcements were made during a City Hall press briefing that included Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Nissan Americas Chairman Carlos Tavares.

The New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission selected the Nissan NV200 as the exclusive taxi of New York City beginning in late 2013. The award comes after a selection process that lasted over two years. The competition built upon more than a century of taxi industry heritage to drive the design of a purpose-built vehicle, tuned to the city’s streets. The other two finalists included Ford Motor Co. and Karsan, a Turkish vehicle manufacturer.

“Nissan is proud to provide the next generation of taxis for the city of New York,” said Tavares.

The Nissan NV200 taxi will be produced in North America at Nissan’s facility in Cuernavaca, Mexico. The Nissan NV200 taxi will be a modified version of the compact commercial vehicle currently available in global markets including Japan, Europe and China. Total manufacturer suggested retail price of the vehicle, with all planned standard features, will be around $29,000.

As part of the program, Nissan also will work with the City and taxi owners on a pilot program to study the use of zero-emission, electric vehicles as taxis.  Nissan will provide up to six 100-percent electric Nissan LEAFs to taxi owners for testing in 2012 as well as the charging stations to support their use.

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