Yulon Motor Co (裕隆汽車), which manufactures and distributes vehicles for Japan's Nissan Motor Co in Taiwan, said it plans to become a contract manufacturer for other overseas automakers including France's Renault SA.
Han Chen-ping (韓正平), spokesman and executive vice president of the nation's third-largest automaker, said the company is in talks with Renault to manufacture cars in Taiwan. Yulon is also a national distributor for Renault here.
PHOTO: GEORGE TSORNG, TAIPEI TIMES
"Making international brand-name cars in addition to Nissan is part of Yulon Motor's strategy," Han said. "At this point, no agreement has been reached with several companies we've contacted."
Nissan is 44.4 percent owned by Renault, based in Boulogne-Billancourt, France.
Assembling cars such as Renault's Clio in Taiwan would reduce prices that have risen because of the strengthening of the euro, which has gained about 7 percent against the New Taiwan dollar in the last 12 months. Taiwan also imposes a 26.1 percent duty on imported sedans.
Shares of Yulon Motor were up NT$0.70 at NT$37.30 at the Taiwan Stock Exchange on news that the automaker is also in talks with General Motors Corp to assemble the US automaker's vehicles under its brand. The two may form a joint venture to market Chevrolet vehicles here, a Chinese-language business daily reported yesterday.
The paper said that General Motors, the world's biggest carmaker, is expected to resume assembling cars in Taiwan in 2006, with Yulon seen as GM's likely contract manufacturing partner. Yulon Motor denied the report.
Meanwhile, a new subsidiary of Yulon Motor is expected to list on the TSE at the year's end, Yulon Group chairman Kenneth Yan (嚴凱泰) said yesterday during a new sedan's launch ceremony.
The company rolled out the new Teana in 2.0-liter, 2.30-liter and 3.5-liter models, with retail prices ranging from NT$748,000 to NT$1.38 million, and hopes to market around 1,800 units monthly beginning next month.
The Yulon Nissan Co (裕隆 日產), a Nissan marketing, sales and car reselling unit that was spun off in a Yulon Motor restructuring program in October last year, will debut its shares on the main bourse in December, Yan said. He said he expects the new company to offer NT$10 in earnings per share.
Yulon Motor was split into two separate firms, with one focusing on contract manufacturing and the other on marketing and sales of Nissan-brand cars, particularly in China.
The new venture is 40 percent owned by Nissan, and Yulon will hold 50 percent after selling a 10 percent stake to workers and in a public offering for the sales unit.
Yulon and Nissan have a 45-year business relationship. In 2000, Yulon bought a 30 percent stake in Nissan Motor Philippines Inc to build its Southeast Asian manufacturing base.
Fengshen Automotive Co, which builds and sells Nissan's Bluebird sedans in China, is 40 percent owned by Yulon; the rest is controlled by China's Dongfeng Motor Corp.
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