Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) yesterday saw its first pure electric sports utility vehicle (SUV), model C, commercialized and gained early popularity as reflected on big preorders received by its client Luxgen Motor Co (納智捷汽車).
Luxgen notched 5,000 preorders for its new electric model, named Luxgen n7 designed based on the model C, before its web site went down under the weight of demand.
The model C was developed by Foxtron Vehicle Technologies Co (鴻華先進) on the MIH open platform backed by iPhone assembler Hon Hai.
Foxtron, formed in November 2020, is a joint venture between Yulon Motors Co (裕隆) and Hon Hai, focusing on developing MIH-based EVs.
Luxgen, Yulon’s own-brand car vendor, plans to build its new EV using Foxtron prototypes, including the Model C, Hon Hai’s first all-electric SUV, and the Model E sedan, Yulon said.
Priority on the Luxgen n7 waiting list, along with other benefits, is being offered to those who pay NT$1,000 for the privilege, the company said on its Web site.
Luxgen said the EV is to be the world’s first electric SUV carrying an affordable price tag at about NT$1 million (US$32,754) per unit. Luxgen expects to start delivering the vehicle in the second half of next year.
The virtual preorder event ends on Oct. 15, the company said.
Separately, nationwide new vehicle sales expanded 3.8 percent annually, but fell 9 percent monthly, to 34,416 units last month, beating market expectations as sales usually dip below that figure during Ghost Month.
Hotai Motor Co (和泰汽車), which distributes Lexus and Toyota models in Taiwan, had estimated new vehicle sales would be about 31,000 units last month.
New vehicle sales since Jan. 1 totaled 275,795 units, slumping 5.9 percent from the same period last year.
Some consumers ignored the traditional avoidance of purchasing vehicles during Ghost Month, as a persistent chip crunch and key component shortages have led to longer delivery times, market researcher U-Car said in a statement yesterday.
Annual growth is also attributed to sales promotions and new arrivals of imported vehicles, Hotai said, adding that Tesla’s Model 3 ranked the second best-selling car last month with sales of 1,774 units, surging 303 percent from August last year.
Hotai expects vehicle sales to pick up further to 35,000 units this month as retailers offer promotions, but sales could be set back about 15 percent given chip shortages and uncertainty about global geopolitical tensions.
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