Nissan plans emission-free taxi for 2015

Car maker plans to have electric version of NV2000 taxi available to cab drivers from next year

Car manufacturer Nissan has this week revealed the target launch date for its first zero emission electric taxi, which it expects to be available for London cab drivers from 2015.

A prototype of the vehicle was first revealed in August 2012 (see airqualitynews.com story) and is based on the company’s NV2000 taxi.

Nissan plans to have the zero emission taxi on the market from 2015

A petrol version of the taxi, which is said to emit significantly lower levels of NOx and particulates than existing vehicles is due to go on the market by 2015. The petrol vehicle will be on sale in the Capital in December 2014. Vehicles will be available with a 1.6-litre petrol engine equipped with an automatic gearbox.

In response to feedback from the London Mayor’s office, Transport for London and other key organisations which have put their backing behind the new taxi, Nissan has redesigned the vehicle to better reflect the iconic nature of the traditional black cab since the 2012 launch.

Design

Darryl Scriven, design excellence manager at Nissan Design Europe, said: “Having already overcome the unique technical challenges presented by the development of a new Hackney Carriage for London ahead of our launch of the vehicle in August 2012, we turned our attention to making the vehicle look the part.

“The Mayor’s office and taxi drivers were very keen that we maintain the character of the Hackney Carriage, making it something that people in the city can be proud of.

“The main challenges were concerned with making sure customers can easily recognise it as a taxi. Being in London, we were able to go out and talk to cabbies about what was important to them as well as look at the vehicle from a customer’s viewpoint. It’s unusual for us to be able to work on something as bespoke as this, specifically for one location in the world and we are very proud to have been asked to do so.”