Dutch Taxi company, "Taxi Electric" will become the first taxi company to have the new Nissan e-NV200 on its books. The Amsterdam-based company already runs a fleet consisting exclusively of Nissan Leaf EVs.
The unique selling point of offering an emission-free taxi service has been successful for Taxi Electric since its incorporation in 2011 and the firm is once more teaming up with Nissan to get the larger e-NV200 on the streets of the Dutch city. Production of new EV starts in May and the e-NV200 will join the Taxi Electric's ranks in the summer.
Taxi Electric was the first taxi company to run a 100% electric fleet and currently runs 25 Nissan Leafs, which have covered a combined total of more than 1.5 million kilometres (932,000 miles).
Andy Palmer, EVP Nissan said: "Taxi Electric was one of the first electric taxi companies in the world, and I've been impressed with their progress since their launch two years ago. They were the first to prove that zero-emission taxis - in the form of Nissan Leafs - are a viable alternative. They have covered an astonishing distance in their fleet in such a short time and have shown just how reliable our electric technology is in a demanding environment. Their pioneering spirit closely matches ours and we are certain they will continue their success with the ground-breaking Nissan e-NV200."
Ruud Zandvliet, founder of Taxi Electric added: "Two years ago we started with 10 Nissan LEAF. Each of these travelled well over 100,000km and proved to be extremely reliable. Since last summer demand for our taxis is growing rapidly which allowed us to double our fleet. We are very excited about the e-NV200 as it is designed to be a taxi. This will improve our offering and open new business opportunities for us."
Taxi Electric is unlikely to be the only taxi company running the e-NV200 as the city of Barcelona signing a memorandum of understanding with Nissan to promote the vehicle as a taxi.
Source: The Green Car website.
Editorial Comment:
A memorandum of understanding...really
After 2018 boris has announced TfL will no longer issue licences to new taxis who can't achieve close to zero emissions. He wants the London Taxi trade to invest somewhere in the region of 40k in this technology so he can escape paying a huge EU fine for filling the streets with exhaust fumes from empty buses, that reputedly prematurely kill over 4,000 Londoners annually.
BUT:
There are currently no fast charge stations suitable for taxi charging in Central London. Perhaps Boris could tell us how many deep charges this vehicle can manage before the battery pack needs to be replaced.
Not every driver has the ability to run a lead to the vehicle to charge overnight.
(Contrary to believe, we don't all live in a 3 bedroom semi with a car port)
Recently on BBC news, when asked if they would buy an electric Taxi vehicle, both the chairman of the LCDC and the vice Secretary of the LTDA said "no".
ALSO WHILE WE ARE ON THE SUBJECT:
In 2020 the Low Emmission Zone (LEZ) will become active. Any vehicle failing to achieve the lower emissions will be charged a daily rate of £100 to enter the zone.
The rating for the zone will be set at euro 4 for petrol and euro 6 for deisel.
There are currently no euro 6 deisel engines fitted to Taxi models, although LTC have suggested this for the TX5 due to be produced next year.
As there doesn't seem to be a memorandum of understanding from Boris and TfL granting exemption across the board to existing Taxi models, does this mean that a new Vito or TX4 purchased today, only has a current age limit of 5 years 9 months?
There are massive EU grants available for manufacturers to develope electric vehicles for general Taxi use. But their doesn't seem to be one penny to help London Taxi owners meet this massive investment.