Taxicabs are expected to be quite popular pitch in places like New York City,
Cape Town, Milan, Berlin, Tokyo and Moscow.
The exterior color was chosen
Volkswagen Milano Taxi Concept is a combination of green and
black. This application is undoubtedly show some resemblance to the old model VW Samba bus. The most striking exterior is a single sliding door
that opened on the sidewalk.
VW said that several DNA-concept design future is already visible in Milan, including the abolition of the classic radiator grille and replace it with a transparent barrier between the headlights. A sign taxi sat in a panoramic glass roof and can be illuminated in one of three different colors, depending on whether the cars have them or not.
Like the production electric vehicles that Volkswagen will start building from 2013, the Milano Taxi uses lithium ion batteries. A 45 kilowatt-hour pack is mounted in the floor and provides a claimed 186-mile driving range on the EU driving cycle. The Milano Taxi is purely a concept at this point, but since it appears to be based on Volkswagen's "New Small Family" of low- and zero-emissions vehicles, we wouldn't be surprised to see the German automaker put this vehicle into production as an easy way to get more electric vehicles into the field a few years from now.
The Milano Taxi, with its top speed of 120 km/h is driven by an electric motor with a peak power of 85 kW (continuous power: 50 kW). The motor is supplied with energy via a lithium-ion battery integrated in the concept car's underbody. Thanks to the implemented battery storage capacity of 45 Kilowatt-hours (kWh) and the relatively low vehicle weight (1,500 kilograms), despite the battery, it is possible to cover distances of up to 300 kilometres (per NEDC) depending on driving style. The storage battery can readily be recharged to up to 80 percent of its total capacity in just over one hour, the exact time depending on the available recharging infrastructure and battery's momentary charge state.
