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The age of the roomy cab is nigh
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THE Volkswagen Touran is set to become the de facto model for the city’s taxis after the Shanghai Transport Commission yesterday made clear its feelings on the subject.
Despite saying last year that taxi firms could chose from two vehicles when updating their fleets — the Touran people carrier and the Lavida sedan, which is also made by VW — it yesterday clarified that operators are being urged to favor the former.
“We will encourage cab companies to choose the Touran model when buying new cars, so as to build a fresh image for Shanghai’s taxis,” said Sun Jianping, the commission’s chief.
There are currently about 50,000 taxis in operation in Shanghai, of which just 3,000 are Tourans.
“About 10,000 taxis are replaced annually, so the Touran will be the primary model in three to five years,” Sun said.
Tourans were introduced into Shanghai for the 2010 World Expo and quickly became popular due to their capaciousness and comfy seats.
Li Jie, a spokesman for the Shanghai Jinjiang Taxi Co, one of the city’s big four operators, confirmed the commission favored the larger of the VWs.
“The main taxi firms have been encouraged to buy Tourans in the future,” he told Shanghai Daily.
Li said Jinjiang will update part of its fleet in March, but he declined to say what models the company might buy.
“Tourans are more expensive and so are their spare parts, so they are more costly to maintain,” he said.
A Touran costs about 40,000 yuan (US$6,400) more than a Lavida. Both are produced by SAIC Motor Corp, which has a joint venture with Volkswagen.
“The transport authority said it is in talks with SAIC to get a lower price for us,” Li said.
“But some of the smaller companies might still choose Lavidas,” he said.
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