Manufacturer of the 'most recognised taxi in the world' hopes to make inroads into French market

They may still think of Britons as perfidious, rail about our treatment of Joan of Arc, and seethe over Waterloo and Trafalgar, but there is one British symbol that has an enduring place in French hearts.

The celebrated London black cab ranks high in Gallic affections: staid, clunky and inelegant maybe, but also solid and reliable – a metaphor, perhaps, for how many feel about the British themselves.

Now the Midlands-based manufacturer of the famous vehicle is hoping to persuade the French to adopt what it says is the "most recognised taxi in the world".

A new, Chinese-build left-hand drive version of the black cab operating on London streets is being offered to anyone with a spare €33,900 (£29,200) for the standard diesel model.

Frenchwoman Elisabeth Young, a former Rover executive whose company is importing the vehicles to France, said she had already had approaches from French taxi companies. "The black cab is an exceptional and unique vehicle with no equivalent anywhere else in the world. It's difficult to say how many we will sell, but there is great interest and I hope we will see more and more taxis like it on the roads in France."

What's more, she says, it will come in colours other than black: "There's red, white, blue, whatever colour you want."

News of the London cab's new route to France comes after the British company London Taxis International, part of the Manganese Bronze group that has produced more than 100,000 taxis at its Coventry plant since 1948, began exporting the vehicle to Saudi Arabia last year.

Matthew Cheyne, the company's international director, said there was a "great deal of interest" in France from upmarket taxi services including those at hotels and airports. "It's a British icon and there's a lot of affection for the London cab, but it's more than that. If you step out of a station or airport, you know instantly what it is, what it does and how it does it," he said.

Young said the London cab was a pleasure to drive in France, as she found when using her demonstration model, a white cab with the Union flag on its roof. "It's amazing. People smile and wave at you. The French have a great affection for the London taxi," she said.

French taxi drivers who buy the cab will be also reportedly be offered training in, among other things, "good customer service" and learning where to go. However, Parisiens, used to a less loquacious if not downright rude breed of conducteur de taxi, should not get their hopes up too high.

"I don't think you'll see the streets of Paris filled with London taxis, but our research shows there is an appetite for these vehicles in France," said Cheyne.

Now, what is the French for: "I had that whatsisname in the back of my cab once …"?