Yulon Motor Sees Jan. Revenue Up 33.5% YoY

Thanks to increased shipments to group affiliates, Yulon Motor Co., a major auto assembler in Taiwan and the flagship firm of the group, recently announced lucrative operation results for January, including monthly revenue of NT$11.51 billion (US$383.5 million), up 16.8% month-on-month (MoM) and 33.5% year-on-year (YoY).

Most other major carmakers and vendors saw revenue decrease in the same month, due mainly having delivered products by the end of 2013.

Some 44,000 new cars were sold in Taiwan in the first month of 2014, up 2% YoY, to which industry sources attribute limited new-car deliveries by Hotai Motor Co. Ltd., local agent of Toyota.

Hotai pushed the locally-assembled new Toyota Altis sedan in 4Q, 2013 and has been facing zero inventory due to limited supply from affiliate Kuozui Motors Ltd., local assembler of Toyota, which has to meet the export volume of locally assembled Altis to the Middle East as agreed with  Toyota Japan. As result, Hotai sold only about 13,400 units in January, down 7% YoY.

Hotai registered January revenue of NT$14.46 billion (US$482 million), up 16.1% YoY but down 16.8% YoY. The company has been receiving flooding orders for the locally produced Altis sedans and imported RAV4 sport utility vehicles (SUVs). The company stressed that it is very optimistic about the overall market on the island this year, and maintains its original forecast of about 390,000 units; in which Hotai aims to win a 34% share.

Yulon Nissan Motor Co., local agent of Nissan, and Luxgen Motor Co., Ltd., agent of Yulon's own Luxgen line, both affiliates in the Yulon Group, enjoyed strong sales in January. The former sold 5,921 new cars, up 18.2% YoY, but its revenue dropped by 0.4% to NT$3.49 billion (US$116.3 million), with Luxgen having sold 3,101 units, up 92.3% YoY. As the contract assembler to both Yulon Nissan and Luxgen, Yulon Motor was the biggest beneficiary.

Strong demand for new cars in Taiwan emerged from the fourth quarter of 2013, leading to the supply shortage of some hot-selling models in January. Industry sources said that some auto makers and vendors are expected to continue enjoy sales gains in February and March.

Major Auto Makers & Vendors' January Revenues
Company	January Revenue	MoM	YoY
Yulon Motor Co.	NT$11.51 billion	16.81%	33.53%
China Motor Corp.	NT$4.47 billion	60.51%	-12.41%
Sanyang Industry Co., Ltd.	NT$3.11 billion	28.38%	-5.51%
Hotai Motor Co. Ltd.	NT$14.46 billion	16.05%	-16.80%
Yulon Nissan Motor Co.	NT$3.49 billion	23.03%	-0.39%