Japan's Nissan Motors has won a contract to provide the next generation of New York's famous yellow taxis.

The deal, (which is estimated to be worth $1bn) was announced by Mayor Michael Bloomberg. The design will be based on Nissan's NV200 minivan model.

The van, which beat US carmaker Ford Motors and Turkish manufacturer Karsan Otomotiv for the 10-year contract, will be phased in starting in 2013.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg acknowledged the Nissan NV200's boxy form evokes suburbia, but he said the yellow paint would give it the iconic New York touch.

The vehicle features an overhead window to offer views of city skyscraper and charging stations for mobile phones.

The Nissan was the most fuel-efficient and the cheapest of the three finalists, at about $29,000 (£17,608) per vehicle.

The bulk of the current fleet are Ford Crown Victorias, a car that only does about 12 miles per gallon, compared with 25 miles per gallon for the Nissan NV200.