Hyundai in, Mercedes out as Spore limo
Singapore (dpa) - Hyundai has overtaken the Mercedes as the largest
limousine taxi in Singapore, operators said on Wednesday.
The Hyundai Azera is the choice of Smart Automobile, which has
secured a fleet of the cars which are longer, wider and taller than
the Mercedes-Benz E-class cabs plying the roads.
The Azera's 3.3-litre V6 engine is also the largest among cabs in
the city-state.
Smart Automobile managing director Johnny Harjantho told The
Straits Times that each Azera costs around 70,000 Singapore dollars
(46,000 US dollars) with the necessary certificate, a third less
than the Mercedes E-class taxi.
The savings comes from a "green rebate," given to environmentally
friendlier vehicles.
The Azera is the first six-cylinder car in the city-state that will
use natural gas. Smart Automobile is converting the petrol-driven
autos.
Taxi drivers operators have been opting for Korean and European
vehicles since the stringent Euro IV emission standard came into
effect last October.
Copyright
Bangkok Post
The company that has been contracted to do the CNG conversion is
Scantruck Engineering.
