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Taxi Officials On Song for Hyundai's Sonata

Beijing Municipal Government wants to make the Sonata, a model of car manufactured by Beijing Hyundai Automobile Company, the standard vehicle for the city's taxicab service by the end of this year, reports China Daily. "We are discussing what the standards should be for taxis, and these will be announced soon," said Liang Jianwei, director of the Taxi Management Division under the Beijing Communications Bureau. "Any car model from any automobile maker has the opportunity to enter the taxi market if it meets government standards."

Although taxi companies can select any of the approved models, the mid-size Sonata is the city government's first choice, officials said. The standard will set specific requirements on the taxis' structure and performance, including the size of seats and trunks, he added.

In addition to the Hyundai company, Shanghai Volkswagen, Citroen Fukang and other auto-makers from home and overseas are showing great interest in the city's taxi market, which now has 64,000 vehicles with a renewal rate of 20- to 30 percent a year, officials said.