Karsan’s design for the NYC Taxi of the future as seen in 2011 (credit: Karsan / City of New York)
Reporting Peter Haskell
NEW YORK (WCBS 880) - It’s looks like it comes from another world, but it could end up coming from simply an outer borough.
WCBS 880′s Peter Haskell With Karsan USA’s William Wachtel
If Karsan USA officially wins the contract to build New York City’s new taxi fleet, it wants to do it at the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal.
Company president William Wachtel doesn’t see any reason for local opposition.
“It’s an industrial area of the city. It’s crying out for development,” he says.
LINK: NYC.gov – Taxi of Tomorrow
While the company is Turkish, Wachtel says building in America makes sense.
“[It's] because our powertrain is coming from Michigan – from Chrysler facilities. Suddenly there becomes an impetus to produce here in America,” says Wachtel.
The plant would cost about $100 million.
Karsan is a finalist along with Nissan and Ford to build a taxi that would replace the current models.
