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NEW YORK - Nissan has won a 10-year contract to build the next generation of New York's iconic yellow taxis.
The city's mayor, Michael Bloomberg, announced the deal and city officials reckoned it will be worth about $1-billion.
Nissan beat Turkish manufacturer Karsan Otomotiv and US automaker Ford for the deal and will base the taxis on the box-like NV200 minivan.
10-YEAR CONTRACT
Bloomberg said: "The new taxis will be custom-designed to meet the demands of the fleet carrying 600 000 passengers a day. It's going to be the safest, most comfortable, and most convenient cab the city has ever had."
On a conference call, Nissan officials said they expected to provide as many as 26 000 taxis over the life of the 10-year contract, starting in 2013. Nissan also provides taxis for Tokyo and Mexico City.
The city's world-famous yellow cabs feature in just about every feature film or TV series based in New York. They were even the basis for the award-winning series "Taxi" that ran from 1978-1983 starring Danny DeVito and Christopher Lloyd.
'TAXI OF TOMORROW'
Nissan will be able to convert the NV200 to run on batteriy power from 2017. The city will test the use of electric taxis using six Nissan Leaf units, provided free to the city as part of the deal.
The NV200 is the first cab to pass federal crash testing with the taxi partition and taxi equipment installed.
Nissan's contract is expected to begin in 2013 when older models will begin to be phased out over three to five years.
The city's mayor, Michael Bloomberg, announced the deal and city officials reckoned it will be worth about $1-billion.
Nissan beat Turkish manufacturer Karsan Otomotiv and US automaker Ford for the deal and will base the taxis on the box-like NV200 minivan.
10-YEAR CONTRACT
Bloomberg said: "The new taxis will be custom-designed to meet the demands of the fleet carrying 600 000 passengers a day. It's going to be the safest, most comfortable, and most convenient cab the city has ever had."
On a conference call, Nissan officials said they expected to provide as many as 26 000 taxis over the life of the 10-year contract, starting in 2013. Nissan also provides taxis for Tokyo and Mexico City.
The city's world-famous yellow cabs feature in just about every feature film or TV series based in New York. They were even the basis for the award-winning series "Taxi" that ran from 1978-1983 starring Danny DeVito and Christopher Lloyd.
'TAXI OF TOMORROW'
Nissan will be able to convert the NV200 to run on batteriy power from 2017. The city will test the use of electric taxis using six Nissan Leaf units, provided free to the city as part of the deal.
The NV200 is the first cab to pass federal crash testing with the taxi partition and taxi equipment installed.
Nissan's contract is expected to begin in 2013 when older models will begin to be phased out over three to five years.
