The world's major automakers will present their concept cars and latest models at the 2004 Taipei International Auto Show today, while several European brands are considering raising prices by 3 to 5 percent due to the strength of the euro against the US dollar.
The auto show, which will run until Jan. 11 at Taipei World Trade Center Exhibition Hall I, will feature 239 new auto models from 34 foreign brands.
The show will also exhibit four concept cars from Infiniti, Nissan Motor Corp, Toyota Motor Corp and Kia Motors Corp, as well as 38 SUVs, or sport utility vehicles, and recreational vehicle models.
To promote its slogan "Everything starts with Mercedes-Benz," the German luxury brand DaimlerChrysler will present the Benz Patent Motor Car No. 1, the world's first car powered by petroleum, during the show.
This antique vehicle was built in 1886 by Karl Benz and rep-resents the technological leap that inaugurated the vigorous development heralded by the adoption of the internal combustion engine by the world's motor industry, said Wolfram Geisler, president and CEO of DaimlerChrysler Taiwan Co.
Mercedes-Benz will display 13 vehicles in its 300-ping booth, including a Sprinter ambulance that can shuttle through narrow lanes to fetch patients, and which is equipped with complete emergency aid facilities and a bacteria-proof interior.
"We will donate the ambulance to National Taiwan University Hospital after the show finishes," Geisler said.
Another DaimlerChrysler attraction is the exclusive Maybach sedan, a brand which the company revived in 2002. The brand boasts two different handmade sedans, the Maybach 57 and the Maybach 62, which cost up to 687,500 euros.
"There are only two owners of these cars in Taiwan so far," said Ming Liu (劉家銘), a planning manager at Mercedes-Benz. "One is the Chinatrust Group, which made its purchase through another importer, and the other is an entrepreneur who wants to remain anonymous."
The luxury auto maker Jaguar will also display 4 models, including the newly launched and revamped XJ sedan and the luxury sports car XK8 Coupe.
Jaguar, now a brand owned by the Ford Motor Co, sold 567 vehicles last year in Taiwan, a 42 percent rise from a year earlier.
"With quality products and a clear marketing strategy, we are confident that sales in 2004 will increase at a similar rate," said Hu Kai-chang (
Toyota and Lexus, which is the luxury branch of the Japanese automaker, will exhibit four concept cars at the show. The Lexus MY2054, built by Stephen Spielberg and Lexus design group for the movie Minority Report, will be displayed at the show along with the PM-01, a "personal mobility" vehicle with artificial intelligence, and the FINE-S, which is powered by an emissionless fuel cell.
Honda Taiwan, which was established last year, will exhibit its Formula One (F1) racing car, the super sports car S2000 -- which was built using F1 technology in celebration of Honda's 50th anniversary -- the CR-V and the all-new Accord, launched here last November.
Asimo, the world's first and only bipedal humanoid robot, created in 2000, is Honda's other attraction.
"Our exhibits feature the theme of Honda for this show -- the next dream," said Fujisaki Teruo, president of Honda Taiwan Co (台灣本田). "We believe that the mobility culture will become more free and more creative, which Honda has been endeavouring to achieve."
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