Yulon shows off new cars

Yulon Nissan Motor Co (裕隆日產), the nation's third largest auto vendor and distributor of Nissan cars, yesterday introduced two models of their high-end Infiniti-brand cars, in the face of stiff competition in the luxury segment here.

A joint venture in which Yulon Motor Co (裕隆汽車) holds 60 percent and Nissan Motor Co holds the remainder, Yulon Nissan yesterday launched the Infiniti G35 sport coupe and the M35 luxury sedan, in addition to the current lineups of Infiniti FX35, the Q45 and the G35 coupe.

The new M35 luxury sedans will bear retail prices ranging from NT$2.25 million (US$72,000) to NT$2.31 million, and the company hopes to sell around 300 units this year, according to Yulon Nissan's president Liu Yi-cheng (劉一震). As for the G35 coupe, the company has a sales target of 200 units this year, at a retail price of NT$1.92 million each, he said.

In the January-to-March quarter, Yulon Nissan sold 21,354 Nissan brand vehicles including the X-Trail sport-utility vehicle, Sentra sedans, 350Z sports sedan and the Quest minivan. The company generated first-quarter revenue of NT$16.87 billion, accounting for 31.06 percent of targeted sales this year, the company said in April.

Last year, Yulon Nissan's sales increased 6.8 percent to 70,319 vehicles from a year ago.

Japan's Nissan hopes the introduction of new models can help boost global sales by 6.8 percent this business year, the Tokyo-based automaker said in a faxed statement.

Nissan first started selling Infiniti-brand vehicles in Taiwan in 1997. Taiwan is the third market after North America and the Middle East in which Nissan sells a complete range of Infiniti vehicles.

"We recognize Taiwan as one of the region's most dynamic markets for luxury vehicles," Yasuaki Hashimoto, Nissan's vice president, said yesterday at the launch ceremony.