Italian designer shows new-style taxi from Volkswagen (News Feature)

By Jean-Baptiste Piggin Apr 19, 2010, 12:46 GMT

Hanover, Germany - A new style of electric-powered taxicab shown Monday at the Hanover Fair is the brainchild of Walter Maria de'Silva, Volkswagen Group's Italian-born chief designer.

The two-tone concept car, the Milano, is painted black on the upper half and green on the lower half, with a thin red-and-white stripe in between.

'These are the classic colours for public transport in Italy,' explained de'Silva, 59, in an interview, moments after German Chancellor Angela Merkel had examined the car and seen the electrical-recharge socket hidden under its front Volkswagen badge.

Volkswagen chief executive Martin Winterkorn hailed de'Silva's design and described the boxy little cab in its retro colours as, in a sense, Germany's gift back to Milan.

'At the moment, it is a concept,' said de'Silva, explaining it was just one of the firm's ideas for sustainable motoring.

The quiet, emission-free taxi, with its 50-kilowatt electric motor, is part of Volkswagen's philosophy of 'micro-mobility.'

The designer focused on creating plenty of space inside for a maximum of three passengers, but also for the driver.

'For drivers, a cab is a working location where they spend eight hours at a time,' he explained.

Unlike the 1950s taxicabs which inspired the Milano, the electro- cab is heavily computerized.

'All the information you need is right there in the taxi,' de'Silva said.

This includes maps and data on restaurants and other points of interest around town, as well as a tourist-guide voiceover for passengers who want to know what famous sights they are seeing out the window.

Merkel, accompanied by Italian economy minister Claudio Scajola examined the car during a walkabout on the first day of the Hanover Fair, a major annual exhibition of new factory machinery.

Cars are not strictly part of the palette of fair products, but Volkswagen Group, as the biggest industrial group in Lower Saxony state where the fair takes place, traditionally has one of the biggest booths.

It is also a big customer for the industrial robots that are a key product at the event.

The fair, which runs till Friday, has a special spotlight this year on Italian industry. Scajola was standing in for Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who had originally planned to attend but was thwarted by the volcanic ash that has shut down European aviation.

The electric-car platform which is the basis of the Milano can also be developed for other urban vehicles such as delivery vans. De'Silva, who joined the Volkswagen Group 11 years ago and initially worked with Seat, then Audi, now lives in Munich.

His car designs on European roads include the current Audi A5.