Photo: Nissan
New York had a plan for turning the world-famous yellow cab fleet into a green arsenal of people carriers, but fleet operators had other plans.
Luckily, the Taxi of Tomorrow plan can go ahead after the Court of Appeal in Albany upheld the initiative, Bloomberg reports. It all started five years ago when the New York municipality wanted to replace the majority of the taxi fleet through a partnership with Nissan.
Nissan secured the $1 billion-worth 10-year deal in 2011 after they managed to battle the likes of Ford and Turkish carmaker Karsan. So far, around 700 Nissan e-NV200 taxis are roaming New York's streets, but after this legal success another 13,000 all-electric cabs will join them gradually.
The same source cites Travis Parman, a Nissan spokesman, who claims the Nissan e-NV200 is more suitable to city streets than any other vehicle because its airbags are superior, and it offers wheelchair accessibility.
While New York still tries to implement zero-emissions vehicles for taxi fleets, similar initiatives are starting to gain momentum in Europe. For example, last year, Barcelona and Madrid received a fleet of Nissan Leaf and e-NV200 models that would serve as taxis.
However, New York's taxi commission wants the taxi fleet to be 80% made of Nissan e-NV200 all-electric cars, but cab owners can buy other cars that meet the commission's regulations.
For now, we'll just have to wait and see if the $29,700 Nissan e-NV200 is up to the challenge, although we don't see any reason why the car wouldn't be able to perform.
Nissan secured the $1 billion-worth 10-year deal in 2011 after they managed to battle the likes of Ford and Turkish carmaker Karsan. So far, around 700 Nissan e-NV200 taxis are roaming New York's streets, but after this legal success another 13,000 all-electric cabs will join them gradually.
The same source cites Travis Parman, a Nissan spokesman, who claims the Nissan e-NV200 is more suitable to city streets than any other vehicle because its airbags are superior, and it offers wheelchair accessibility.
While New York still tries to implement zero-emissions vehicles for taxi fleets, similar initiatives are starting to gain momentum in Europe. For example, last year, Barcelona and Madrid received a fleet of Nissan Leaf and e-NV200 models that would serve as taxis.
However, New York's taxi commission wants the taxi fleet to be 80% made of Nissan e-NV200 all-electric cars, but cab owners can buy other cars that meet the commission's regulations.
For now, we'll just have to wait and see if the $29,700 Nissan e-NV200 is up to the challenge, although we don't see any reason why the car wouldn't be able to perform.
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