Nissan NV200 NYC minivan taxi

[TomT]

It looks like the Nissan taxi has been derailed in NYC...

"Mayor Bloomberg, New York's Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) and Nissan have been working to bring the NV200 "Taxi of Tomorrow" to the Big Apple since 2011, but it looks like its planned October 28th launch won't go without a hitch. In a lawsuit brought by Evgeny Freidman and the Greater New York Taxi Association against the TLC, Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Schlomo Hagler ruled that the agency can't force taxi owners to buy the Japanese manufacturers' autos. "Simply stated, the power to contract and compel medallion owners to purchase the Nissan NV200 from Nissan for ten years does not exist in the City Charter," Hagler's decision reads, according to the Wall Street Journal."

http://www.engadget.com/2013/10/09/nyc-taxi-of-tomorrow-judge-rules-no-mandate/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[LTLFTcomposite]

...can't force taxi owners to buy the Japanese manufacturers' autos.

I thought Nissan was a French company.

 

[DNAinaGoodWay]

I'll buy one.

 

[Berlino]

I'll buy one.

I think a taxi medallion goes for about $400k. Buy one and you'll get first dibs on the NV200. Or you could wait for the Model X.

Seriously, besides to fleets, is Nissan selling the NV200 to anyone else soon?

 

[GIBBER]

"You will be assimilated. Resistance is futile."

Why does NYC want all their taxis to look the same?.. make them all different (including colors) for variety.

 

[GIBBER]

I have seen two on the road this month. One a florest delivery van and the other a electrician's van.

I'll buy one.

I think a taxi medallion goes for about $400k. Buy one and you'll get first dibs on the NV200. Or you could wait for the Model X.

Seriously, besides to fleets, is Nissan selling the NV200 to anyone else soon?

 

[GIBBER]

Nissan is Japanese, Renault is French. They entered into an business alliance, not a merger/takeover/buyout.

...can't force taxi owners to buy the Japanese manufacturers' autos.

I thought Nissan was a French company.

 

[rslatkin]

How did they manage to design the "taxi of tomorrow" out of a minivan and not have it be wheelchair accessible? I'm sure they can do better.

 

[Berlino]

I have seen two [NV200s] on the road this month. One a florist delivery van and the other a electrician's van.

No doubt you have.

I mistakenly thought the thread was about the yet-to-be-released e-NV200. Sorry about the confusion this caused.

 

[cwerdna]

Nissan is Japanese, Renault is French. They entered into an business alliance, not a merger/takeover/buyout.

...can't force taxi owners to buy the Japanese manufacturers' autos.

I thought Nissan was a French company.

Ummm... Nissan was near bankruptcy in 1999. Renault installed Carlos Ghosn, bought a controlling stake in Nissan and turned the company around. http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2013/02/renault-nissan-the-giant-that-wants-to-be-small/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; mentions Renault owns 44.3 percent of Nissan.

Nissan does have some stake in Renault.

 

[DNAinaGoodWay]

I have seen two [NV200s] on the road this month. One a florist delivery van and the other a electrician's van.

No doubt you have.

I mistakenly thought the thread was about the yet-to-be-released e-NV200. Sorry about the confusion this caused.

Oh, me too

 

[mxp]

http://www.hybridcars.com/nissan-preparing-2014-launch-of-e-nv200-electric-van/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://www.env200.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Does anyone here know:

1. What capacity battery will the e-nv200 have?
2. If a non-commercial entity (like a private purchaser) somehow gets hold of one of these, and modifies it to become a "people mover"; will there be any legal issues?
3. Will insurance companies cover this vehicle in 2014?

Sorry for all the questions.... it appears that this van has all the right bits to make it into one hell of a pra ctical people mover.

 

[TonyWilliams]

1. What capacity battery will the e-nv200 have?

I suspect that it's the exact same 24kWh battery that's in the LEAF.

Their bigger van / truck uses either two or three of the LEAF 24kWh batteries.

 

[RonDawg]

2. If a non-commercial entity (like a private purchaser) somehow gets hold of one of these, and modifies it to become a "people mover"; will there be any legal issues?
3. Will insurance companies cover this vehicle in 2014?

The insurance company is where you might have a problem. Nissan is marketing the vehicle as a 2 or 3 passenger commercial van, not as a people mover, and your insurance company might frown upon you bolting your own seats and seatbelts in place (especially if the commercial version does not have the factory mounting points in the back).

However, custom van conversions are usually based on windowless commercial vans. Perhaps you might be able to convince one of those conversion companies to do a passenger conversion.

 

[GRA]

1. What capacity battery will the e-nv200 have?

I suspect that it's the exact same 24kWh battery that's in the LEAF.

Yes, that's what they said, the LEAF's powertrain and battery unchanged. Which is why it would be a total failure as a cab - even shorter range than a LEAF, plus high summer temps, frequently opened doors in all weather while using climate control, and frequent quick charging? No thanks. It would need at least twice as much battery and a TMC to be practical in cab usage.