Taxi Concepts Become Big Business

Did you know that taxi concept cars are big business?  I didn’t, but I have been noticing a lot of new concepts being introduced lately.  Volkswagen came out with its 2010 Milano Taxi concept at the Hanover Trade Show.  The car will be an emission free prototype for a new generation of taxis powered by an electric motor and featuring a swivel-sliding door that opens in a forward direction and some cool customizable taxi touch screens.   The concept, painted green and black to symbolize the old taxis of Milan looks like a small minivan with only one door on the sidewalk side.  The vehicles are short, but the new door extends into the roofline and is coupled with a panoramic roof will make the interior seem huge.  Inside the car is all business and includes 8 inch touch screens that display cab fare, points of interest, a GPS route overview, weather data, climate control and a credit card reader all in various languages.

Next we have MX-Libris, a zero emission concept taxi that won awards for design in 2008.  Two companies are planning on developing the car into a production model for the streets of Mexico City.  The design includes a drive by wire system and low voltage LED lights throughout, and a very cool glass cube body.  Not many details yet, but we should be hearing more soon.

Finally we have London, a city which is famous for its black taxis.  A Chinese company has released a photo of a new London Taxi concept called the LTI TXN.  The car will be unveiled at the Beijing Auto Show this Sunday and looks similar in shape to the old taxi, but with a Geely face and a higher stance.

At the same time a group of companies including Mercedes Benz introduced a new electric taxi, called the eVito that could be in use during the 2012 Olympics.  Designed to carry six people over 120 kilometers on a six hour charge the new taxi is based on a small Mercedes van.

Older taxi concepts include last year’s Ford Transit Connect Taxi, the Citicab which was designed in Finland, the Minimodal Hybrid which was designed for New York City and looks like a cross between a glass cube and a Model T Hack and the Taxi Tokyo which pulls cars behind it like an airport luggage carrier.  Taxi concepts are big business all over the world.

Article courtesy of Chris Raymond