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Nissan Leaf all-electric taxis start pilot program in NYC [w/video]

When New York City picked the Nissan NV200 as its Taxi of Tomorrow, many were surprised that the vehicle wasn't electric, or even a hybrid for that matter. With NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg on hand, Nissan celebrated Earth Day on Monday by unveiling a pilot program of electric taxis for the city consisting of six 2013 Nissan Leaf EVs, which the mayor referred to as the "taxi of the day after tomorrow."
This pilot program is aimed to show how EVs can operate as taxi cabs, and Mayor Bloomberg said that New York City hopes to have a third of its taxi fleet electrified by 2020. In addition to the six cars, Nissan has also provided three quick chargers around Manhattan, allowing the Leafs to get an 80-percent recharge in just 30 minutes.
According to David Yassky, commissioner of the NYC Taxi and Limousine Commission, "What we have to do now is figure out how you integrate the charging of an electric vehicle into the duty of a taxi cab."

Nissan Leaf's lead over Renault Zoe narrows in Europe

The Nissan Leaf has seen its sales steadily decline in the US for a while now. Here, its been eclipsed by the second-generation Chevrolet Volt extended-range plug-in while people await the next-generation version of the all-electric Leaf. The EV may be starting to receive a similar response across the Pond. While the Leaf remains Europe's biggest-selling EV, that lead is eroding, as sales of the Renault Zoe are catching up, according to the European Alternative Fuels Observatory (EAFO). It's a good thing Nissan and Renault are sister companies. Through May, Nissan sold about 9,500 Leaf vehicles in Europe. The good news is that number is up 37 percent from a year earlier. There's disconcerting news, too, and that is that the Renault Zoe's sales have surged 60 percent this year to almost 9,400 units. So, for all we know, the Zoe may have caught up with the Leaf last month. Still, both models are outpacing demand for the Tesla Model S and Volkswagen e-Golf: the former's sales are little-changed this year, while the latter model's sales have dropped 34 percent. The BMW i3, Kia Soul EV, and Mercedes-Benz B250e all have had higher sales this year. As for plug-in hybrids, the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV has maintained its substantial European lead, almost doubling sales of the Volkswagen Golf GTE and totaling almost 9,400 units sold through May. Meanwhile, the new Volvo XC90 PHEV has leapfrogged models such as the Volkswagen Passat GTE, Mercedes-Benz C350e, and Audi A3 e-Tron into third place behind the Mitsubishi and VW. Here in the US, Nissan Leaf sales through June fell 41 percent from a year earlier to about 5,800 units, while Chevrolet Volt sales have surged 75 percent to 9,808 units. Featured Gallery 2016 Nissan Leaf View 30 Photos News Source: EAFO, Getty via Green Car Reports Green Nissan Renault Electric ev sales zoe

Nissan leaning on JATCO to remedy CVT problems

Nissan's decision to fit continuously variable transmissions across even more of its new models may be coming back to bite the Japanese automaker, as it's been hampered by customer satisfaction issues relating to its XTronic CVTs, which are provided by a supplier called JATCO.
From what we're understanding, the issue largely relates to customers' unfamiliarity with the non-traditional shift nature of a CVT. Dealers have reported complaints and service visits from owners over the belt-driven automatics (did these people not test drive the cars before they bought them and notice that they don't shift conventionally?).
The company, which Nissan owns 75 percent of, has come under fire from none other than Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn, who's spoken about JATCO and its troubles rather openly. "Every time you launch a new CVT you always have some risks," Ghosn said in an interview with Automotive News. "So we now have a process by which, before we launch any new CVT, [JATCO] come before the Nissan executive committee to explain all the measures they have taken to make sure there are no surprises."