As many as 10,000 Nissan Motor Co. minivans may be racing through New York City streets in coming years after the state’s highest court upheld the city’s $1 billion plan to replace most taxi cabs with a new model built by the Japanese automaker.
Thursday’s ruling by the Court of Appeals in Albany rejected a challenge by fleet operators to the project, which will replace most of the 13,000 yellow cabs with the $29,700 Nissan NV200, with its sliding doors, extra luggage space and air bags in back. Nissan in 2011 won the 10-year contract as part of the city’s “Taxi of Tomorrow” plan.
