Taxi Electric will be the first private taxi company to add the new 100 percent electric Nissan e-NV200 taxi to its green-energy-fuelled, zero-emission fleet.

The combination of Nissan's innovative zero-emission technology, in the form of the 100 percent electric Nissan Leaf electric car and Taxi Electric's city transportation model have seen success since the start of operation in 2011.

Taxi Electric, based in Amsterdam, operates a fleet of 25 Leaf EVs and was the first private taxi service to switch to a fleet of 100 percent electric taxis in November 2011. The Dutch company's Leaf fleet has now amassed a trouble-free 1.5 million kilometres in taxi operations.

Andy Palmer, EVP Nissan, said: "Taxi Electric was one of the first electric taxi companies in the world, and I've been impressed with their progress since their launch two years ago. They were the first to prove that zero-emission taxis – in the form of Nissan Leafs – are a viable alternative. They have covered an astonishing distance in their fleet in such a short time and have shown just how reliable our electric technology is in a demanding environment. Their pioneering spirit closely matches ours and we are certain they will continue their success with the ground-breaking Nissan e-NV200."

Ruud Zandvliet, founder of Taxi Electric added: "Two years ago we started with 10 Nissan Leaf. Each of these travelled well over 100,000km and proved to be extremely reliable. Since last summer demand for our taxis is growing rapidly which allowed us to double our fleet.  We are very excited about the e-NV200 as it is designed to be a taxi. This will improve our offering and open new business opportunities for us."

Taxi Electric will not be the sole operator to use the Nissan e-NV200 part of its taxi fleet. The city of Barcelona has signed a memorandum of understanding with Nissan to promote it as a taxi for the Spanish region. Global production of the e-NV200 begins in May this year, with sales soon after.