Mercedes-Benz sedans will be withdrawn from Shanghai's taxi market by September, according to information from Dazhong Taxi Company of Shanghai.

The city's cab companies will limit themselves to two car brands, Santana and Passat, said a spokesman for Dazhong Taxi Company, a leading taxi firm in the metropolis.

Forty-five of Dazhong Taxi Company's 100 Mercedes-Benz cars were pulled from service Tuesday, said the spokesman, citing super high operating cost as the main reason for the phasing out.

Dazhong Taxi Company began to use Mercedes-Benz cars in January 2004.

"Operators and drivers have been driven crazy by high maintenance costs. These luxury cabs not only cost more to buy, they guzzle more fuel, and take longer to repair," said the spokesman.

Each Benz car costs about 600,000 yuan (about 75,000 U.S. dollars), but the fares they charge are the same as other cheaper brands of cabs. Despite being more experienced, Benz cab drivers earn less than those who drive less famous car brands, according to the spokesman.

There are now 43,000 cabs in Shanghai.

(Xinhua News Agency August 3, 2006)