New York City’s Taxi and Limousine Commission voted to make the Nissan NV200 van the city’s next official taxi. Set to begin in 2013, the Nissan NV200 will start replacing older taxis in a move that will reduce carbon emissions in the city. This van will be powered by a 2.0 liter four cylinder engine, making the Nissan NV200 more efficient than current taxis.

Not only is Nissan improving mileage in the city’s taxi fleet, but they are also making the city’s taxis more wheelchair accessible by partnering with Braun Corp., one of the world’s largest mobility product providers.

Now that the deal is official, Nissan will begin testing their vans to make sure they are ready for service before they go on sale. While testing these vehicles, Nissan will be crash testing the vans with all the cab’s equipment intact including the partition. This type of car testing has never been done before for New York taxis.

Another feature included in the new New York taxis include a “low-annoyance horn”. This feature will contain lights that flash while the horn is going off to make repeated honking less necessary. A Hearing Loop system for the hearing impaired customers and independently-controlled rear air conditioning will be included in the new features as well.

Image courtesy of portugalmotorsport