Porsche Taiwan Ltd (台灣保時捷), a new joint venture between Porsche AG and Universal Motor Traders Ltd (永業), plans to launch the German automaker’s latest electric vehicles in Taiwan over the next two or three years, a company executive said yesterday.
“Our Mission E Cross Turismo cars are coming,” Porsche Taiwan chief executive officer Martin Limpert said at the inauguration of the company’s new office in Taipei, adding that electrification of vehicles will play an important role in the brand’s strategy.
Porsche last week unveiled a new concept version of its Mission E Cross Turismo, an all-electric crossover utility, at the Geneva Motor Show. The vehicle, which has an 800-volt architecture, is capable of accelerating to 100kph in less than 3.5 seconds.
The car can be charged by induction, at a charging station or using the Porsche home energy storage system, Porsche said in a statement.
Porsche Taiwan has yet to decide on which charging options will be provided in the nation, as it is investigating consumer preferences, Limpert said.
At yesterday’s ceremony, Porsche Taiwan said it is to introduce the third generation of Cayenne this year, as well as the thoroughbred sports cars 911 GT2 RS and 911 GT3 RS.
It plans to expand its local dealer network by opening a new Porsche Center in New Taipei City within the next few months.
The company, which has six offices nationwide, said it is also considering setting up exhibition rooms in Kaohsiung, Tainan and Hsinchu.
Universal Motor, a major subsidiary of luxury car distributor Pan German Universal Motors Ltd (汎德永業), was the Porsche’s general agent in Taiwan for more than 45 years, until last year.
Universal Motor has a 25 percent stake in Porsche Taiwan, with Porsche AG holding the rest, a person familiar with the matter said.
Porsche said it hopes to pour more resources into the local market through the establishment of a Taiwanese subsidiary and Universal Motor will retain its position as the brand’s largest distributor in Taiwan.
Porsche last year sold a record 3,358 cars in Taiwan, two more than it had the previous year, company data showed.
SEEKING CLARITY: Washington should not adopt measures that create uncertainties for ‘existing semiconductor investments,’ TSMC said referring to its US$165 billion in the US Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) told the US that any future tariffs on Taiwanese semiconductors could reduce demand for chips and derail its pledge to increase its investment in Arizona. “New import restrictions could jeopardize current US leadership in the competitive technology industry and create uncertainties for many committed semiconductor capital projects in the US, including TSMC Arizona’s significant investment plan in Phoenix,” the chipmaker wrote in a letter to the US Department of Commerce. TSMC issued the warning in response to a solicitation for comments by the department on a possible tariff on semiconductor imports by US President Donald Trump’s
‘FAILED EXPORT CONTROLS’: Jensen Huang said that Washington should maximize the speed of AI diffusion, because not doing so would give competitors an advantage Nvidia Corp cofounder and chief executive officer Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) yesterday criticized the US government’s restrictions on exports of artificial intelligence (AI) chips to China, saying that the policy was a failure and would only spur China to accelerate AI development. The export controls gave China the spirit, motivation and government support to accelerate AI development, Huang told reporters at the Computex trade show in Taipei. The competition in China is already intense, given its strong software capabilities, extensive technology ecosystems and work efficiency, he said. “All in all, the export controls were a failure. The facts would suggest it,” he said. “The US
The government has launched a three-pronged strategy to attract local and international talent, aiming to position Taiwan as a new global hub following Nvidia Corp’s announcement that it has chosen Taipei as the site of its Taiwan headquarters. Nvidia cofounder and CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) on Monday last week announced during his keynote speech at the Computex trade show in Taipei that the Nvidia Constellation, the company’s planned Taiwan headquarters, would be located in the Beitou-Shilin Technology Park (北投士林科技園區) in Taipei. Huang’s decision to establish a base in Taiwan is “primarily due to Taiwan’s talent pool and its strength in the semiconductor
French President Emmanuel Macron has expressed gratitude to Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) for its plan to invest approximately 250 million euros (US$278 million) in a joint venture in France focused on the semiconductor and space industries. On his official X account on Tuesday, Macron thanked Hon Hai, also known globally as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), for its investment projects announced at Choose France, a flagship economic summit held on Monday to attract foreign investment. In the post, Macron included a GIF displaying the national flag of the Republic of China (Taiwan), as he did for other foreign investors, including China-based