Mercedes Benz is about to enter the London black cab trade, breaking the total monopoly of London Taxi International.

For years LTI has run the roost of London's streets, responsible for about 93pc of London's 22,000 black cabs. The new six-seaters will be able to tout for business on the street, previously the sole preserve of the iconic cab.

Low emissions

Previous Mayor Ken Livingstone criticised the traditional black cab for not being environmentally friendly and tried to force the trade to install expensive filters that provided questionable benefits.

The new lower emission taxi is based on the Mercedes Vito Traveliner, and will be targeted at London's 25,000 licensed 'black cab' drivers.