RSS Report: How Nissan's NYC Taxi of Tomorrow has turned into a nightmare

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Filed under: Minivan/Van, Government/Legal, Commercial Vehicles, Nissan, Specialty

"Why can't we have competition? Why did the city think there had to be exclusivity?" - Taxi Association

Nissan's takeover of the lucrative New York City taxi market hasn't exactly gone according to script. An agreement that should have seen the company become the exclusive supplier of taxis for the next ten years has resulted in nothing but headaches, controversy and legal challenges, despite the $1 billion deal between the Japanese marque and the Big Apple.

The opposition to the Nissan deal has been fierce since day one, Automotive News reports in a sweeping writeup of the Taxi of Tomorrow saga, with the Greater New York Taxi Association - which represents nearly a third of the city's taxi owners - putting up a fight against the new van cabs.

Whether it's the monopolistic nature of the Nissan deal - as we said, under the terms of the deal Nissan would become the sole distributor of taxis for New York cabbies - the NV200 taxi's limited reliability record, or concerns over the company's ability to supply the cabs, the Taxi Association has fought tooth and nail against the so-called Taxi of Tomorrow, AN reports.

"Look, Nissan is a good company. And the NV200 is not a bad car. If it turns out that people like it, then great - they should be able to sell them here," Ethan Gerber, an attorney for the Taxi Association told Automotive News. "But why can't we have competition? Why did the city think there had to be exclusivity? It stifles competition and stops innovation."

"Why couldn't we just have standards for the taxi, and if Toyota and Ford wanted to offer an identical vehicle that might be somehow better or more competitive, why can't they?" Gerber asked.

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How Nissan's NYC Taxi of Tomorrow has turned into a nightmare originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 17 Dec 2014 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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