Yulon Motor Co (裕隆汽車) yesterday said it is to manufacture electric vehicles (EVs) in Taiwan for Japan’s Mitsubishi Motors Corp based on a model developed by Foxtron Vehicle Technologies Co (鴻華先進), its joint venture with Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密).
Earlier in the day, Foxtron Vehicle signed a memorandum of understanding with Mitsubishi Motors to provide contract design and manufacturing services for an EV model.
The deal is the first EV order for Hon Hai, which has made inroads into the business over the past six years. The iPhone maker, also known internationally as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), had previously approached Nissan Motor Co, Mitsubishi’s largest shareholder, to further its EV ambitions, but to no avail.
Photo: Bloomberg
The first EV model to be supplied to Mitsubishi Motors is expected to become available in Australia and New Zealand from the second half of next year, Foxtron Vehicle said in a statement.
In a separate statement, Mitsubishi Motors said the two sides would proceed with further discussions for the cooperation toward a definitive agreement.
The collaboration is part of a product plan announced last year highlighting “excellent driving performance as an EV and an advanced infotainment system, making it optimal for the Oceania region,” Mitsubishi Motors said.
Foxtron Vehicle and Mitsubishi Motors gave no financial details.
Foxtron Vehicle lists on its Web site 11 vehicle models, including its Model T bus, Model V pickup truck, Model N van, Model B hatchback and its “luxury flagship” Model E sedan.
Yulon would produce the vehicles for Mitsubishi Motors at the company’s plant in Miaoli County’s Sanyi Township (三義), it said.
“That opens a new opportunity for Taiwanese automakers to tap into overseas markets,” Yulon added.
The company has been assembling vehicles for Nissan Motor Corp and Mitsubishi Motors on a contract basis for a long time. At the Sanyi factory, it has cranked out more than 10,000 EVs, including the n7 model for its subsidiary Luxgen Motor Co (納智捷汽車). The n7 is based on the first EV model designed by Foxtron.
Yulon said it is setting up a new production line at the Sanyi factory to produce new EVs based on the Foxtron-developed Model B for the domestic and overseas markets.
The Sanyi factory has an installed capacity of 5,500 vehicles per month, with potential output to reach 11,000 units per month if it uses double shifts.
Additional reporting by CNA
The Ministry of Transportation and Communications yesterday inaugurated the Danjiang Bridge across the Tamsui River in New Taipei City, saying that the structure would be an architectural icon and traffic artery for Taiwan. Feted as a major engineering achievement, the Danjiang Bridge is 920m long, 211m tall at the top of its pylon, and is the longest single-pylon asymmetric cable-stayed bridge in the world, the government’s Web site for the structure said. It was designed by late Iraqi-British architect Zaha Hadid. The structure, with a maximum deck of 70m, accommodates road and light rail traffic, and affords a 200m navigation channel for boats,
PRECISION STRIKES: The most significant reason to deploy HIMARS to outlying islands is to establish a ‘dead zone’ that the PLA would not dare enter, a source said A High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) would be deployed to Penghu County and Dongyin Island (東引) in Lienchiang County (Matsu) to force the Chinese military to retreat at least 100km from the coastline, a military source said yesterday. Taiwan has been procuring HIMARS and Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) from the US in batches. Once all batches have been delivered, Taiwan would possess 111 HIMARS units and 504 ATACMS, which have a range of 300km. Considering that “offense is the best defense,” the military plans to forward-deploy the systems to outlying islands such as Penghu and Dongyin so that
‘CLEAR MESSAGE’: The bill would set up an interagency ‘tiger team’ to review sanctions tools and other economic options to help deter any Chinese aggression toward Taiwan US Representative Young Kim has introduced a bill to deter Chinese aggression against Taiwan, calling for an interagency “tiger team” to preplan coordinated sanctions and economic measures in response to possible Chinese military or political action against Taiwan. “[Chinese President] Xi Jinping [習近平] has directed the People’s Liberation Army to be ready to invade Taiwan by 2027. China has a plan. America should have one too,” Kim said in a news release on Thursday last week. She introduced the “Deter PRC [People’s Republic of China] aggression against Taiwan act” to “ensure the US has a coordinated sanctions strategy ready should
TAIWAN ISSUE: US treasury secretary Scott Bessent said on the first day of meetings that ‘it wouldn’t be a US-China summit without the Taiwan issue coming up’ There were no surprises on the first day of the summit between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday, as the government reiterated that cross-strait stability is crucial to the Asia-Pacific region, as well as the world. As the two presidents met for a highly anticipated summit yesterday, Chinese state media reported that Xi warned Trump that missteps regarding Taiwan could push their two countries into “conflict.” Trump arrived in China with accolades for his host, calling Xi a “great leader” and “friend,” and extending an invitation to visit the White House
RSS