Taxi! New London black cab will be electric too

Nissan is working on a black cab for London that is 100% electric. Today the Japanese car maker unveiled a new taxi design which will be petrol-fuelled rather than diesel […]

Nissan is working on a black cab for London that is 100% electric.

Today the Japanese car maker unveiled a new taxi design which will be petrol-fuelled rather than diesel – and announced the same model will be available with an electric engine.

The style is based on Nissan’s van – the NV200 – and will be launched in December 2014. It’s an update of an original design which was released in August 2012 but the firm has reworked it to “better reflect the iconic nature of the traditional black cab”.

It is hoped the zero emission, 100% electric taxi version – the e-NV200 – will be on the streets of the UK capital in 2015.

Both models will have the round headlamps and a re-modelled grille mirroring the traditional black cab ‘face’ and LED lighting to improve the visibility of the traditional taxi sign.

Darryl Scriven, Design Excellence Manager at Nissan’s design centre in Paddington said: “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.”

A version of the e-NV200 is also set to hit the streets of Barcelona and Nissan has designed electric versions of New York’s signature yellow taxis.

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