By IANS,
Mumbai : Hyundai’s compact car Santro is set to be launched here as taxis after the state government ordered the phasing-out of nearly 7,500 ageing cabs.
The company Monday shipped 30 Santro cars to the Mumbai taxi union, saying it would supply 1,250 vehicles by the year-end.
“Santro is a proven and low-maintenance vehicle with lots of interior space. We want to make a breakthrough in the Mumbai taxi market and hope to start it with the Santro,” said D.C. Seol, Hyundai India’s senior general manager of sales in a statement.
According to a recent state transport department order, taxis that are over 25 years old will have to be phased out, which immediately takes out 7,500 of the 55,000 cabs plying on Mumbai’s roads.
The bulk of the city’s taxi fleet is made up of Premier Automobile’s Padmini model, which is not manufactured any longer.
Hyundai is offering the Santro cab at a discounted price of Rs.242,500 for the non-air conditioned variant, while the same model costs over Rs.270,000 ex-showroom in Mumbai.
The company said the Santro cab would feature the black-and-yellow colour scheme required for taxis.