The Standard reports that Beijing’s government has mandated the replacement of the city’s entire fleet of 70,000+ taxis by 2007 in preparation for hosting the Olympic games.

Since late last year, the municipal transportation commission has been drafting new fleet standards, though what interested car companies the most was a promise that the city’s 1,500 taxi operators would be free to choose whatever car makes and models they wished.

What an opportunity! Not just for the carmakers, but for the transportation commission to define baseline emissions and fuel efficiency standards for a major urban fleet. I’ll be looking to see if I can come up with the specs.