Unlike the United States where the taxicab market is as tedious as a Ford Crown Victoria in a white finish, in Europe, it’s as colorful as a summer garden with offerings ranging from inexpensive Dacia Logan saloons to luxurious Mercedes-Benz E-Class Estates and everything in between.

And the palette will soon get more vibrant with the addition of the Citroën DS5 Hybrid4 that will be unveiled in a world premiere at the upcoming European Taxi Fair in Cologne from November 9 to 11, 2012.

The taxicab edition of the French firm’s slinky-looking mid-size model uses the same hybrid powertrain with all-wheel drive capability and CO2 emissions of just 91g/km as the regular version.

The system pairs a 2.0-liter turbo diesel engine with an electric motor offering a total of 200PS (147kW or 197hp) and a combined fuel economy of just 3.5lt/100km (equal to 67.2mpg US or 80.7mpg UK).

Citroën said that following the test phase and the optimization of the car for use as a taxi, it will introduce the new professional edition of the DS5 Hybrid4 to the European market in the first half of 2013.

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