Nissan Unveils Its New Design Taxi for London

  on Monday revealed the new face of its Taxi for London as it pushes into an increasingly competitive market for the venerable black cab.                             

The new Nissan Taxi for London. Nissan

Nissan cabs based on the car maker's NV200 compact-van platform are already on the streets in New York and Tokyo, but the model has been redesigned to look more like the traditional London taxi. Changes include round headlights and a remodeled grille, LED lighting to improve visibility of the traditional taxi sign and new front-bumper panels.

It also conforms with London's strict licensing rules for vehicles to be used as cabs, including the requirement for a maximum 25-foot (7.5-meter) turning circle, which allows taxis to make U-turns in many of London's narrow streets.

The Japanese mass-market maker expects its first London cabs to roll off the production line in December. The base vehicle will be produced at its existing plant in Barcelona and modifications added in England, but not necessarily at its current facility in Sunderland, where it already produces more than half a million cars a year.

"There will be some additional jobs, but we don't have details yet and we have yet to decide on where the work will be done," said Andy Palmer, chief planning officer for Nissan.

Nissan is entering the market just as the original maker of London's famous black cabs has been restored to life by Chinese auto manufacturer Zhejiang Geely Holding Group. Geely rescued what is now known as London Taxi Co. from bankruptcy last year and restarted production of LTC's TX4 cab in September, targeting sales of 2,000 in the first year. Nissan also is up against competition from Daimler AG DAI.XE -0.31% Daimler AG Germany: Xetra ^€61.54 -0.19 -0.31% Jan. 6, 2014 5:35 pm Volume : 2.18M P/E Ratio 8.84 Market Cap€66.04 Billion Dividend Yield 3.57% Rev. per Employee €420,678                                                                      

There are 25,000 licensed cabdrivers and 22,500 licensed vehicles in London, according to Transport for London, the local government body responsible for the city's transport system. The traditional London cabs now made by LTC, known as Hackney Carriages, account for 20,495 of them, with the balance consisting of Mercedes-Benz's Vito model. Total annual vehicle sales are around 1,200.

"We expect to take a pretty reasonable slice of the market," said Mr. Palmer. He declined to comment on the number of taxis Nissan planned to produce annually.

Nissan said its Taxi for London will be more fuel-efficient and emit less carbon dioxide than the traditional London cabs.

Mr. Palmer said the cab will be "competitively priced—cheaper than the LTC cabs."

LTC cabs sell for £32,995 ($53,956) to £36,790, while the Mercedes-Benz Vito is priced at £42,370. Industry insiders expect the Nissan to cost around £30,000.

"If it comes in at that price, it will take 20% to 25% of the market in the first year and more in following years," said Steve McNamara, general secretary of the Licensed Taxi Drivers' Association.

"I will certainly take a serious look at the Nissan taxi, because it is supposed to be twice as economical as other cabs," said Mark Hind, who has been a London cabby for 13 years.

Nissan, an early mover in electric vehicles with its Leaf model, is also developing a 100%-electric taxi, the e-NV200, which it expects to have on London's streets ahead of Mayor Boris Johnson's target of 2020 for all London minicabs and taxis to produce zero emissions.