Nissan London taxi to be built in Coventry

Nissan has revealed that its new taxi for London, due to hit the streets of the Capital later this year, will be built in Coventry.

ADV Manufacturing in Coventry will be responsible for the final assembly of the new taxi in a brand new, dedicated taxi manufacturing facility, funded by a £6 million joint investment between the companies.

ADV will build the new production facility for Nissan’s new Taxi for London adjacent to its existing premises, with a view to delivering the first petrol-engined versions in December 2014. An all-electric variant of the black cab, the e-NV200, will be launched by Nissan in 2015.

The base vehicle will be sourced from Nissan’s Barcelona factory and shipped to the ADV plant in Coventry for final taxi assembly. The extensive taxi transformation includes new bodywork, taxi interior refit and revised suspension and steering.

Andy Palmer, Chief Planning Officer and Executive Vice President of Nissan Motor, said: “We are pleased to be reinforcing once again our commitment to the British automotive industry and the fact that our black cabs will be rolling off the production line in Coventry, with its long history in the taxi business, is an added bonus.”

Business Secretary Vince Cable said: “Nissan has helped drive a renaissance in the British car industry with innovative models like the Qashqai and LEAF, so it is good news the company has chosen to assemble its new taxi in Coventry. We have supported the project with a loan of nearly £4 million through AMSCI (Advanced Manufacturing and Supply Chain Initiative), the government’s jobs creation fund for manufacturing. Through our Automotive Industrial Strategy, we are also partnering up with industry to jointly invest £1 billion in an Advanced Propulsion Centre. This will give forward-thinking businesses like Nissan the confidence to invest and create technologies for cars of the future, delivering more high-skilled jobs and keeping the UK as a world leader in cars."