Taxi Operators Sue NYC Over Nissan Contract

Cab operators in New York City have filed a lawsuit claiming the city has overstepped its authority by authorizing only one taxi model a variant of the Nissan NV200 van to replace the 13,200 cabs currently in use there, Bloomberg News reports.

Nissan beat Ford and Turkish carmaker Karsan Otomotiv in the city's so-called Taxi of Tomorrow competition. Last year the company was an awarded a 10-year supply contract estimated to be worth about $1 billion. The first of the Nissan cabs are expected late next year.

The modified NV200 van will replace the 16 cars, vans and crossover vehicles currently authorized to operate as taxis in the city. Plaintiffs complain about the lack of choice and condemn the Nissan design as "entirely untested" and based on "outdated engineering, design and technology."

The defendants, which include the New York City Taxi & Limousine Commission, say the new requirement will improve service to the public without harming taxi fleets.

Among the features of the Nissan taxi are reading lights, electric outlets, a panoramic roof, anti-bacterial seating surfaces, passenger-controlled rear air conditioning and charging stations for mobile phones and laptop computers.

Nissan will build the taxis in Cuernavaca, Mexico. The company markets the conventional NV200 as a small commercial van in China, Europe and Japan.