Emissions-free taxi concept presented by Volkswagen

Volkswagen has presented at the Hanover Trade Show the Milano Taxi concept an extension of the German brand electric vehicle strategy from the individual mobility also to the public transportation. The Milano Taxi is a MPV developed to answer to the needs of taxi drivers and their passengers, adding to the common taxi concept some innovative details such as a swivel-sliding door that opens in a forward direction and customisable taxi touchscreens.

Milan inspired the green and black painting of the concept car as the taxis at the fashion metropolis were once painted in that color combination. Although it is only a concept vehicle the Milano Taxi has styling similarities to the legendary Volkswagen Samba bus, it is fitted with emissions-free drive system and has tangible and practical features that can make it a very popular vehicle in cities like Milan, Berlin, New York, Beijing, Cape Town, London, Moscow or Tokyo.

The Milano Taxi is 1.60 metres tall, 3.73 metres long and 1.66 metres wide and was built with only one side door for the passengers, thinking on the common use of a taxi. The Volkswagen concept features a single swivel-sliding door that opens forward on the passenger’s side. The location of the door on the sidewalk side was decided right at the beginning of project, according to Walter de Silva, Head of Design for the Volkswagen Group, as this is the safest way for passengers to enter and exit a taxi in city traffic.

The concept taxi was given a brighter interior ambiance thanks to the outer roof areas designed to be transparent and also the panoramic glass roof.

Conceived as an all-electric powered vehicle, the Milano Taxi is fitted with an electric motor with a peak power of 85 kW and that is able to reach a top speed of 120 km/h. Its energy is supplied by a lithium-ion battery integrated in the concept car’s underbody. According to Volkswagen the Milano Taxi should have a range of 300 kilometres (per NEDC) depending on driving style.

At the interior of the Milano Taxi concept the front passenger seat has been taken away intentionally to create cargo space for luggage. Having been given more space to the back passengers the bootspace behind the rear bench is only intended for small articles of gear.

The Volkswagen taxi concept also features an 8-inch touchscreen in the rear next to the driver’s seatback that prevents passengers to always have to stare at the taximeter in the front to see the current charges. Besides displaying the taxi charges it also offers the option of paying by credit card via a card reader. Passengers also get access to other informations such as "points of interest" (POIs) along the route, navigation data (route overview, remaining route and arrival time), weather data and the current date and time.