Barcelona will be the first city in the world to implement a zero-emission taxi fleet. The vehicle of choice is the Nissan e-NV200 electric van, unveiled in full Barcelonian taxi livery in Frankfurt by Nissan President and CEO Carlos Ghosn and the Mayor of Barcelona, Xavier Trias.
The Catalan city will lead the global rollout of the all-electric vehicle based on the NV200 van in 2014, which will then be introduced in other big cities around the world as taxis and delivery vehicles. Not so coincidentally, the e-NV200 will be built solely at a factory located in the Zona Franca in Barcelona, and is to be exported worldwide.
First shown at the Commercial Vehicle Show in Birmingham, UK last April, the e-NV200 uses the electric drivetrain package from the Nissan LEAF. Compared to the standard NV200 van, it has received a visual overhaul both on the exterior and interior, both of which have been directly influenced by the donor electric car.
Nissan and the City of Barcelona will work together to complete the new charging infrastructure required. Nissan-designed quick chargers, which can recharge compatible electric vehicles from 0-80% charge in just 30 minutes, will be installed across the city to create a network for taxi drivers and EV users to quickly “refuel”.
Elsewhere, the petrol-powered Nissan NV200 “Taxi of Tomorrow” will soon be New York City’s taxi of today, replacing the ageing Ford Crown Victoria yellow cabs. Over in the UK, a modified NV200 London Taxi with a diesel engine is destined to succeed the iconic LTC black cabs, pending a final redesign approval. Looks like Nissan is eyeing world taxi domination in the near future.
Closer to home meanwhile, the Nissan NV200 is available through official distributor Edaran Tan Chong Motor in full panel or semi panel commercial van forms. The passenger-oriented window van version of the NV200, known as the Nissan Evalia, could make its way to Malaysia too, as a registered example has been spotted here just last week.
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