Nissan reported that its NV200 vehicle, which will be manufactured in its plant located in the city of Cuernavaca, won the contest put on by the Taxi and Limousine Commission of New York City. Nissan was awarded a contract to supply taxis to the Big Apple for a period of ten years. The announcement was made by the president of Nissan Americas, Carlos Tavares, in the presence of the mayor of New York, Michael Bloomberg. The new New York taxi will be a minivan, which will replace the most common model among the 13,200 New York taxis that circulate in the city: Ford’s famous Crown Victoria, which was recently discontinued. Bloomberg stated that, “The new taxis will be custom-designed to meet the specific demands of carrying 600,000 passengers a day.” Nissan won out against strong competitors such as the Turkish manufacturer Karsan Otomotiv and Ford to receive the city contract, which is estimated to total billions of dollars. Nissan said that it would deliver up to 26,000 taxis during the term of the contract. The Nissan NV200, manufactured in Mexico, will be a modified version of the one currently available in Japan, Europe and China, with enough space for four passengers and their luggage, a horn with low noise pollution, and improved air quality in the cabin, among other features. It will cost $29,000. Nissan said it will train the taxi operators to be able to perform routine repairs and services.

Additionally, Nissan will work with all New York taxi owners in a trial program to study the use of electric vehicles as taxis. “Nissan will supply up to six Nissan Leaf, 100 percent electric cars, for the taxi owners to test in 2012, as well as supply them with the charging stations to support their use,” the company said. The Nissan plant in Cuernavaca manufactures the Tsuru and the Chasis Largo pickup. This is the first time that New York has worked directly with car companies to design a new model for taxis. This news has received wide news coverage in important press media including The New York Times which published a sizeable report on this good news for the Mexican automotive industry.