Yulon Nissan Motor Co (裕隆日產), the nation's third-largest automaker, said yesterday it would move into the vehicle-export business in a bid to improve revenues as the local car market slows.
"We will start to export locally assembled vehicles to overseas markets by the end of the year," said Chen Kuo-rong (陳國榮), president of Yulon Motor Co (裕隆汽車), at a Lunar New Year media gathering.
Yulon Motor is the manufacturing arm of Yulon Nissan, a Taiwanese-Japanese joint venture.
The firm will export 5,000 vehicles to "non-Asian markets," and expect to generate sales worth NT$2.5 billion (US$75.8 million), Chen said.
He refused to reveal more details, except to say that the plans had been finalized and more announcements would be made in the near term.
Despite Yulon Nissan's aggressiveness in targeting overseas markets, industry watchers are not betting on any immediate positive outcome.
Utilization low
"The utilization rate of Yulon Nissan's factories is below 50 percent, it is inevitable that it would want to flex its muscles in overseas markets to beef up sales," said Sam Wu (
But as Japan's Nissan Motor Co was dedicating more resources to the China market to cash in on its internal demand and export opportunities, Yulon Nissan did not have a leading role in deciding new model development or export markets, he said.
Furthermore, the costs of vehicle production in Taiwan are comparatively higher because of limited market size, he added.
Figures released by the Ministry of Transportation and Communications showed that new vehicle sales in Taiwan plunged 21 percent to 62,759 units during the first two months, compared with the corresponding period last year.
"It is difficult to control the macroeconomic environment, but we will continue our vertical integration and auto electronics development programs to create differentiation from our rivals," Chen said.
Competitors such as Ford Lio Ho Motor Co (福特六和) and China Motor Corp (
Ford Lio Ho president Jeffery Nemeth said last month that his company would continue to expand the segment by taking advantage of the strong supply chain in Taiwan.
The automaker exported its first locally assembled cars, the Ford Escape and Mazda Tribute sports utility vehicles, last May -- marking the first time Taiwan-made cars had been exported to Japan, Australia and New Zealand, countries with strict import regulations and evaluation procedures.
China Motor said last week that it was expecting its export business to get a boost from markets such as Southeast Asia, the Middle East as well as Central and South America.
The comapny is poised to debut its locally made Zinger multi-functional vehicle in the Philippines this year, and its Veryca commercial trucks in Saudi Arabia.
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