Japanese car maker, Nissan, has unveiled a new purpose-built model for the London black cab market.
The new Nissan NV200 Taxi for London follows similar NV200 based taxis which run in New York, Tokyo and Barcelona. The New taxi will go on sale in the UK in December 2014. It has been designed by Nissan’s London design studio in Paddington, and will also be assembled in the UK.
The design of the taxi includes several changes to the classic black cab, including in its front grille and the old angular headlamps are replaced with new round headlamps. The front Nissan badge has been given a miss. The design has been done in consultation with organisations including the London Mayor’s office and Transport for London (TfL), who have backed the project.
The NV200 Taxi for London meets all guidelines on taxi turning circles. The redesigned front suspension of the new NV200 allows it to meet the 7.6-metre requirement.
Powering the taxi is a 1.6-litre petrol engine mated to a CVT gearbox. An electric version of the NV200 Taxi for London is also on the cards and will be launched by 2016.
Currently, about 20,000 black cabs are running on London’s roads, but upcoming emission regulations will ensure that many old cabs will be phased out. Nissan is targeting a significant share of the market that this will open up.
Nissan plans to build 140,000 NV200 Taxis per year worldwide. That’s the number of black cabs which have been sold in total since 1948 in the UK.