New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) has selected the Nissan NV200 – a medium sized van launched recently in a number of markets outside North America, including Europe – as New York’s taxi beginning in late 2013 for a 10-year period.
The development follows TLC’s request in December 2009 for manufacturers and designers to send their ideas of a vehicle to serve as New York’s taxi as part of the Taxi of Tomorrow competition, eventually replacing such vehicle models as the time-served Ford Crown Victoria sedan and the newer minivans such as the Honda Odyssey more recently authorised to ply the streets of the Big Apple.
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After evaluating the finalists – which included Ford’s Turkish-made Transit Connect (proving popular with small businesses in the US and often seen on the TV show Ace of Cakes) and rival Turkish manufacturer Karsan, TLC decided the NV200 was the superior choice.
As the current taxi model serving New York is being discontinued, the Nissan NV200 was the best candidate because of its functionality, what it offers drivers and its fuel efficiency, a TLC spokesman said.
The NV200 taxi will be produced at a Nissan factory in Cuernavaca, Mexico with the finishing touches being done in the US. It will be a modified version of the compact commercial vehicle, the company said.
Nissan will also work with New York and taxi owners on a pilot programme to study the use of zero-emission, electric vehicles as taxis. Nissan is to provide up to six Leaf EVs to taxi owners for testing in 2012 as well as charging stations.
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By GlobalDataMayor Bloomberg said: “We started this process to leverage our taxi industry’s purchasing power to get the highest quality taxi. The vehicle meets the top priorities identified by the public in our on-line survey.”
“The NV200 taxi will give Nissan the opportunity to showcase our dedication to vehicle quality and urban mobility to more than 600,000 passengers every day,” said Nissan Americas chairman Carlos Tavares.
