Skip to main content

Mexico's first electric taxis

Mexico's capital has taken delivery of the country's first all-electric taxi cabs under an agreement to promote eco-friendly vehicle use between Japan-headquartered Nissan Motor and the local government.
May 1, 2012 Read time: 1 min
UniCredit Mexico's capital has taken delivery of the country's first all-electric taxi cabs under an agreement to promote eco-friendly vehicle use between Japan-headquartered 2454 Nissan Motor and the local government.The government of Mexico City intends to provide incentives such as excluding electric vehicles from the emissions verification programme, waiving yearly car registration, permitting them to travel in special lanes and offering preferential parking spots in a bid to encourage usage of electric vehicles. By the end of this year, the programme plans to deploy 100 new electric vehicles and a second quick-charge station.Marcelo Ebrard, Mayor of Mexico City, together with Nissan and US-based 3500 General Electric, the supplier of the quick-charge equipment, launched the first three taxis into operational service last week. Increased use of electric vehicles in the city will certainly help reduce the eye-wateringly high smog levels. However whether battery powered vehicles will appeal to more than a handful of Mexico City's notoriously pedal-to-the-metal cab drivers remains to be seen.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Caterpillar is gearing up for CONEXPO-CON/AGG 2023
    February 3, 2023
    Caterpillar is gearing up for a massive presence at the CONEXPO-CON/AGG 2023 exhibition.
  • Call for new ways of funding road infrastructure
    February 16, 2012
    In the first of a two-part article, Jack Opiola, a prominent global expert on transport policy and a leading member of IRF Geneva's Policy Committee on ITS, introduces the urgent need to develop new, more equitable revenue mechanisms to replace fuel taxes as a means of funding and maintaining road infrastructure
  • Sing a song
    February 9, 2017
    Taxi-hailing service Uber has offered an unusual option for travellers in Taiwan. Two specially-configured ‘singing cars’ were sent out on the streets of Taipei. One person could order the vehicle and take six friends along for the experience. The popularity of this option has not been revealed and at this stage, it is not clear if Uber plans to repeat the exercise in any other cities. However given the widespread appeal for karaoke in some countries, it could become a popular way to pass the time when stuc
  • Reading marks out Meon’s ECO ES RoadLiner
    February 20, 2024
    For road marking duties, the English city of Reading has chosen Meon’s lithium-battery-powered ES RoadLiner, developed from the body of a Graco LineLazer ES 2000 and the drive unit of the LineDriver ES.