Nissan Motors has bagged the contract to provide the next generation of New York's famous yellow taxis, the car-maker said in a statement.

The city's Taxi of Tomorrow is the Nissan NV 200 - and it's going to be the safest, most comfortable and most convenient cab the city has ever had, said Mayor Bloomberg.

The deal which is estimated to be around $1 billion and will begin operation in 2013, Bloomberg said.

The contract was awarded after a rigorous selection process that occurred over more than two years. The competition built upon more than a century of taxi industry heritage to drive the design and creation of a purpose-built vehicle, tuned to the city's streets, the car-maker added.

The other two finalists included Ford Motor Co. and Karsan, a Turkish vehicle manufacturer.

Nissan is proud to provide the next generation of taxis for the City of New York, said Nissan Americas Chairman Carlos Tavares. The NV200 taxi will give Nissan the opportunity to showcase our dedication to vehicle quality and urban mobility to more than 600,000 passengers every day.

The Nissan NV200 taxi will be a modified version of the compact commercial vehicle currently available in global markets including Japan, Europe and China. Total manufacturer suggested retail price (MSRP) of the vehicle, with all planned standard features, will be around $29,000, the statement added.

The Nissan NV200 taxi will be produced in North America at Nissan's facility in Cuernavaca, Mexico, it said.

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