Beginning this month, the city of Rio de Janeiro enters the zero-emission mobility era with the launch of the electric taxi program with Nissan LEAF EVs.
In the first phase, two Nissan LEAF taxis will be available in Rio. By the end of the year, 13 more units will be added to the fleet.
The first two Nissan LEAF electric taxis will be available at the Santos Dumont airport stand. Their batteries will be recharged in two Petrobras service stations at the Rodrigo de Freitas lagoon and in the Barra da Tijuca area.
The Nissan LEAF taxis in Rio were designed to meet the requirements of modern urban mobility offering space, comfort and power comparable with combustion engine models.
Since its commercial launch in the U.S. and Japan in 2010 and in Europe in 2011, 50,000 units have been sold worldwide. The Nissan LEAF seats the driver and four passengers and offers a 160-kilometer range. The 48 lithium-ion battery can be recharged in up to eight hours or only 30 minutes via Quick Chargers to be installed by Petrobras.
Through the initiative, the City Administration is encouraging clean and low emission technology, as electric vehicles produce no tailpipe pollution or greenhouse gas and are a sustainable alternative compared to cars powered by oil products. The goal of the Rio de Janeiro Municipality, according to the city’s climate policy, is to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases by 16% by 2016 compared to emission levels of 2005.
Two Petrobras service stations will offer fast recharge to electric taxis: Posto do Futuro, at Barra da Tijuca, and Posto Escola da Lagoa, in the Rodrigo de Freitas lagoon region. Recharging the batter takes approximately 30 minutes. Electric taxi recharging at Petrobras service stations is the result of a Memorandum of Understanding signed in 2012 between Petrobras and NBA study the infrastructure expansion for electric vehicle recharging in Brazil.
The Nissan LEAF taxi delivery ceremony coincided with the official inauguration of Nissan do Brasil’s new headquarters in the modern Porto Brasilis building, where the company has been established since January.
NBA has chosen Rio to establish its new headquarters because of its investment in the construction of a new plant in Resende and sponsorship of the Rio 2016 Games.
