Okay, I know the photo isn’t great, but I didn’t have much time to snap a picture on my phone and the car had already disappeared by the time I returned. For those of your who can’t quite make out the photo, it is of a Nissan Leaf standing in the taxi line. While I have seen several Mitsubishi iMiEVs running around town here in Japan, this is the first time I’ve seen Nissan’s EV offering in regular service.
While the car was adorned with markings of “EV Taxi” and the like, it was clearly a regular service vehicle, picking up fares at normal rates along will all the other taxis. This is an important test of the EV platform, as taxis are a large contributor to downtown air pollution and fuel use, as their regular service cycle includes hours of idling and heavy stop and go traffic. If EVs can effectively replace gas vehicles as taxis, it will be a big step forward for air pollution issues in cities across the world.
However, there is one big issue standing in the way of widespread EV use for taxis – battery recharge takes time. While a normal gasoline vehicle can be filled up in a few minutes after several hours of work, EV charging can take hours and if rushed can lead to eventual battery damage or a reduction in total cycles.
Unfortunately I couldn’t get out the door fast enough to get a ride, but next time I see one on the street we’ll go for a spin and see how the Leaf stacks up against your average Japanese taxi cab (aka, the Toyota Crown).
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