I have no idea if taxis make much more then 80 miles per day, but you can't hope that leaf battery will survive constant quick charging many times a day, it would die very soon. Battery swapping or perhaps different battery chemistry would be much better solution.

When I was a cabby, our average mileage for an 8 hour shift was around 200. So, the present day Leaf is not quite ready for this sort of thing. Give it a few years and better batteries will probably change that metric.

The present day Volt could do it, though . . . although the 2 seat rear may be a compromise. I note from my (so far) 1+ week driving experience in one that, after the battery transitions to the gasoline backup, normal city driving still provides regenerative charging to the battery and gives you phenomenal mileage potential . . . certainly better than conventional Prius-type hybrid.

I do have to take exception at SteveC's comment, though. The Leaf is NOT a toy. It's designed for typical civilian city driving and serves those who use it as designed more than enough range for a charge per day. He obviously has never spent any time living with one.

@ Benjamin

I have to agree with you. I did a stint driving taxi's over 20 years ago and I would have been doing over 300 miles on a 12 hour shift in Glasgow every Saturday & Sunday. I did 4-6 hour shifts during the week when it was better but the day driver was doing 12 hours shifts anyway. The cars were private hire and had really bad fuel consumption then which was nuts and went through engines all the time. But the reality is even today they are driven constantly, up to 24 hrs a day over the weekends and long hours during the week too. That would kill an electric vehicle. Not a good idea to me keep them for what they are best at as normal commuter vehicle.

You do know, Turbofroggy, that Nissan's Leaf warranty recommends only a single Level 3 charge per day. You are probably doing long term damage to your battery by charging it twice like in such a short time span. The Leaf is a solid and safe 4-door auto and that part of it makes it a good deal for a cab. But the present day battery is a weak link and the car's warranty is being voided if it's exposed to so many quick charges in this close of succession . . . especially day in and day out.

@ Turbofroggy

Maybe in some areas where taxi mileages are really low it's a possibilty. I drove cabs on the West coast of Scotland and in Canberra Australia. There is no way it is a goer in either of these countries.

Regarding the BYD: the battery is rather large and the car itself looks to be rugged and utilitarian. This would make it a good choice for a taxi in certain applications. I don't know about LiFePO4s being able to be "charge quickly with little or no damage" but it's good technology. There is slightly less energy density when compared with other lithium formulas and it's less volatile in regards to fire in the event of a catastrophic failure.

Please remember that what will work for an electric taxi in one place might not work for another. Holland, for instance, is a very flat and small country. Its cities were built before the advent of cheap petroleum (or, for that matter, before any petroleum) and, thus, they are compact and close to each other.

The taxi requirements were different in the rural central Pennsylvania town where I used to drive. The town itself was compact, but with a very hilly terrain. This could prove challenging to an EV's range. We also used to regularly do runs to the local airport, which, back then, involved about a 60 mile round trip up the side of a mountain. In today's Leaf, that trip would be almost impossible. But, with better and longer range batteries that we'll undoubtedly see in a few years, it could be done.