Production of the Nissan NV200 Taxi, New York’s “Taxi of Tomorrow” is now underway at the company’s assembly plant in Cuernavaca, Mexico. Nissan developed the new taxi, which is based on the NV200 compact cargo vehicle, to suit the specific demands of the more than 600,000 people who ride in New York City taxicabs every day. In 2011, after a competitive two-year selection process, the Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) of New York City selected Nissan NV200 as the exclusive taxi for the city.
The Nissan taxi will roll off the line looking as if it’s ready to be hailed. Preparations to launch production of the taxi in Cuernavaca entailed the challenge of modifying the production line to integrate exclusive taxi characteristics without affecting production volumes and while maintaining award-winning quality records. The Paint Shop added the exclusive New York taxi yellow color and new elements to achieve a perfect under-floor seal. The plant also added an exclusive afterline to complete taxi-specific manufacturing processes such as bodylines, side door windows and the vehicle’s panoramic roof.
Designed from the inside out using input from New York taxi drivers, medallion holders, fleets and passengers, the Nissan taxi features more content tailored specifically to the unique needs of New York City cab service than ever before. Nissan created its own “New York Avenue” at its Arizona proving grounds to replicate harsh conditions of New York City streets to rigorously test the NV200 taxi so that the suspension can be tuned specifically to NYC road conditions. Additionally, Nissan hired New York City cab drivers to drive test vehicles around the city, collecting data which was then used to refine the vehicle. In total, these drivers logged more than 155,000 miles which is enough to cover every street in Manhattan more than 300 times.
