Luxgen Motor Co Ltd (納智捷) yesterday launched its first subcompact crossover SUV model.
Luxgen — a Yulon Motor Co (裕隆汽車) brand — said that new model U5 is equipped with augmented-reality (AR) technology and has six camera lenses to help eliminate blind spots.
“The U5’s safety equipment is very diversified,” Luxgen president Tsay Wen-rong (蔡文榮) said at a launch event for the model, citing systems of electronic stability control and traction control.
The model has passed the frontal and side collision test based on Taiwan’s vehicle safety regulation in Spain, despite that Luxgen does not sell U5 cars in Europe, a company official said by telephone, adding that the performance was much better than expected.
The test was conducted by IDIADA, a vehicle crash test lab authorized by Taiwan’s Vehicle Safety Certification Center (VSCC), Luxgen said.
IDIADA is also one of the seven official test house of Euro NCAP, a European car safety performance assessment programme that rates cars sold in the EU market through a series of vehicle tests.
With the U5 priced between NT$659,000 and NT$789,000 (US$21,870.44 and US$26184.8), lower than its rivals, Luxgen has received more than 1,500 preorders since last month, Tsay said.
The better-than-expected demand could help the company reach its sales target of 18,000 cars in Taiwan and China this year, Luxgen said.
Over the first eight months of this year, Luxgen sold 8,800 cars in Taiwan.
It declined to give a number for its sales in China, but said it would introduce the U5 to China next month.
The U5 launch is part of the company’s mid-term plan to introduce 10 new models over the coming five years, Luxgen said.
Yulon’s board in June approved a plan to set up a sales firm in China for 600 million yuan (US$91.11 million) to take full control of Luxgen’s marketing business in that nation, according to the company’s filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange at the time.
Dongfeng Yulon Motor Co (東風裕隆), Yulon’s joint venture with China’s Dongfeng Automobile Co (東風汽車), has been responsible for selling and manufacturing Luxgen cars in China, but it will focus solely on manufacturing in the future, Yulon said.
Luxgen introduced an upgraded version of U6 compact crossover in the first half of this year, and Yulon hopes the launches of the two new Luxgen models will boost its sales and earnings.
From January through last month, Yulon reported that cumulative revenue declined 15.54 percent from a year ago to NT$63.25 billion, mainly due to fierce competition in the Chinese market.
This story has been updated since it was first published.
NOT JUSTIFIED: The bank’s governor said there would only be a rate cut if inflation falls below 1.5% and economic conditions deteriorate, which have not been detected The central bank yesterday kept its key interest rates unchanged for a fifth consecutive quarter, aligning with market expectations, while slightly lowering its inflation outlook amid signs of cooling price pressures. The move came after the US Federal Reserve held rates steady overnight, despite pressure from US President Donald Trump to cut borrowing costs. Central bank board members unanimously voted to maintain the discount rate at 2 percent, the secured loan rate at 2.375 percent and the overnight lending rate at 4.25 percent. “We consider the policy decision appropriate, although it suggests tightening leaning after factoring in slackening inflation and stable GDP growth,”
DIVIDED VIEWS: Although the Fed agreed on holding rates steady, some officials see no rate cuts for this year, while 10 policymakers foresee two or more cuts There are a lot of unknowns about the outlook for the economy and interest rates, but US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell signaled at least one thing seems certain: Higher prices are coming. Fed policymakers voted unanimously to hold interest rates steady at a range of 4.25 percent to 4.50 percent for a fourth straight meeting on Wednesday, as they await clarity on whether tariffs would leave a one-time or more lasting mark on inflation. Powell said it is still unclear how much of the bill would fall on the shoulders of consumers, but he expects to learn more about tariffs
Greek tourism student Katerina quit within a month of starting work at a five-star hotel in Halkidiki, one of the country’s top destinations, because she said conditions were so dire. Beyond the bad pay, the 22-year-old said that her working and living conditions were “miserable and unacceptable.” Millions holiday in Greece every year, but its vital tourism industry is finding it harder and harder to recruit Greeks to look after them. “I was asked to work in any department of the hotel where there was a need, from service to cleaning,” said Katerina, a tourism and marketing student, who would
i Gasoline and diesel prices at fuel stations are this week to rise NT$0.1 per liter, as tensions in the Middle East pushed crude oil prices higher last week, CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) said yesterday. International crude oil prices last week rose for the third consecutive week due to an escalating conflict between Israel and Iran, as the market is concerned that the situation in the Middle East might affect crude oil supply, CPC and Formosa said in separate statements. Front-month Brent crude oil futures — the international oil benchmark — rose 3.75 percent to settle at US$77.01