Nissan electric taxis delivered to Madrid and Barcelona

Every other headline with Madrid and Barcelona this weekend will be about the El Clasico and the fierce rivalry between the rival clubs and cities, but here’s something they have in common. Nissan has delivered electric taxis to both cities – the Leaf to the Spanish capital and the e-NV200 to the Catalan hub.
The latter is an important step in the execution of an agreement between the Japanese manufacturer, the City of Barcelona, and the Barcelona Metropolitan area. The e-NV200 is built in Barcelona for the world. Production started in May this year.

Madrid has now its first electric Nissan Leaf taxi. The Leaf is the best-selling EV in the world with more than 142,000 units sold globally so far. The handover event was held at the city’s Puerta del Sol, where the “zero km” measuring starting point of all Spanish roads is located.
“Declining air quality levels are a top concern across Europe and it’s great to see Madrid and Barcelona taking such positive steps in improving air quality through the incorporate of Nissan’s all-electric cars into their taxi fleets,” said Jean-Pierre Diernaz, director of EVs for Nissan Europe.
“These taxi bring a huge benefit not only residents but also for the drivers – thanks to the ultra-low running costs only an electric car can offer. This scheme demonstrates that sustainable transportation is easy and affordable for everyone,” he added.
The Renault Zoe EV will be available for rent under the COMOS programme from next month
Staying on the topic, Nissan’s alliance partner Renault is currently the most active brand promoting the electric cause in Malaysia, together with Cohesive Mobility Solution (COMOS). The latter’s executive chairman (and former Proton boss) Datuk Seri Syed Zainal Abidin recently told us that his EV car-sharing programme is on track to begin operations early next month.
The public will be able to rent the Renault Zoe (funky Twizy to come later) for RM15 for the first half-hour and RM5 for every subsequent 15 minutes, with four downtown KL charging stations expected to be ready when the service rolls out.