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.
March 1, 2012 Read time: 1 min
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

  • IRF World Congress: moving ahead
    October 18, 2024
    On the last day of the three-day IRF World Congress in Istanbul, attendees heard what can work best, what can be improved and what the future might hold for those pursuing sustainable goals. David Arminas reports.
  • MIRA builds on reputation for transport excellence
    October 3, 2012
    MIRA in central England has begun a huge redevelopment of its 830 acre site that will see the renowned centre for transport technologies expand its capabilities while, at the same time, create the largest transport research and development technology park in Europe. Guy Woodford reports This is all very impressive,” said Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg in April 2011 on hearing a presentation of MIRA’s ambitious expansion plans. As succinct appraisals go, Clegg’s view of MIRA’s plans to develop its brand of
  • Deciding whether to buy new or used equipment
    May 20, 2015
    Customers can face the choice of buying used or new equipment – Dan Gilkes writes. The decision to buy either new or used equipment is almost as old as the construction plant market itself. However some of the reasons for choosing between the two might well be changing, to meet new demands from customers across the world and to cope with a changing supply base. Ever more stringent emissions legislation in Europe, the US and Japan, rapidly developing emerging markets that want the productivity of the latest
  • Innovations in earthmoving
    May 13, 2024
    New innovations for the crawler excavator market will boost productivity as well as sustainability – Mike Woof writes