Nissan to Provide 10 NV200 Combis to Areas Damaged by Japan Quake

Nissan Motor Co. today announced it will be loaning 10 of its compact commercial vehicle, the NV200 Combi Taxi, at no cost to several taxi firms in the Tohoku region of Japan. This resource will help improve public access to transportation in the areas affected by the recent major earthquake.

These aren’t firms out for your money, but ones that have been designated for this role by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) in association with the “Utilization and demonstration project of new easy access vehicles in areas affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake”.

The project is part of the efforts made to develop and promote new types of easy access vehicles, including the Universal Design Taxi and will be launched in areas devastated by the recent natural disasters.

“We are proud to support the MLIT project by providing Nissan’s NV200 Combi Taxis,” said Nissan Corporate Vice President Hideto Murakami, who is responsible for the Global LCV Business Unit. "Our hope is that they will be used to help people in the affected area and, as we go forward, lead to widespread adoption of the Universal Design Taxi nationwide."

The NV200 Combi Taxis will be delivered to the affected areas in the autumn of this year. The NV200 Combi, which forms the basis of the NV200 Combi Taxi, was chosen in May 2011 as the next-generation taxi for New York. It is a model designed for customers around the world as Nissan’s next-generation compact commercial vehicle, suited for a wide variety of situations.