Yulon Group to Introduce More Hybrid Car Models to Taiwan

To meet the increasing demand of local consumers for fuel-efficient cars, the Yulon Group recently decided to introduce several hybrid models into Taiwan.

Yulon Nissan Motor Co., Ltd., the local agent for Nissan and Infiniti cars, will soon start selling the Infiniti Q50S hybrid, and plans are under way to import the QX60 Hybrid seven-seat MPV (multi-purpose van) at the end of the year.

Another Yulon group affiliate, China Motor Corp. (CMC), the local Mitsubishi agent, recently announced that it would import the Mitsubishi Outlander plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) by year-end. This new hybrid is claimed to have a superior fuel efficiency of 61 kilometers per liter.

H.T. Liu, CMC's president, pointed out that soaring fuel prices and increasingly stringent fuel-efficiency and vehicle emissions standards have been driving more and more automakers to develop more efficient engines and hybrid powertrain solutions.

With the help of government incentives, including both commodity- and license-tax reductions, some 20,000 hybrid cars are sold in Taiwan every year. The result is a very high hybrid-car penetration rate of about 5%.

Toyota and Lexus hybrids have achieved the highest shares of the hybrid-car market in Taiwan--especially the Toyota Camry hybrid sedan, which is the only locally-assembled hybrid model now being sold in the domestic market.

Yulon Nissan announced that the first batch of Infiniti Q50S Hybrids will be priced at NT$2.25 million (US$75,000). In addition to the Q50S Hybrid, the company will also market the 2.0L turbo model. A senior official said that his company aims to sell some 1,000 imported Infiniti cars in Taiwan this year.

Yulon Nissan pointed out that new hybrid cars sold in Taiwan enjoy a 50% reduction in the commodity tax. This equates to a saving of NT$300,000 to NT$400,000 (US$10,000 to US$13,000) saving on a hybrid car with an engine bigger than 2000cc.

Local Vendors of Hybrid Cars
Agent	Brand	Hybrid Models
Hotai Motor	Toyota	Camry Hybrid, Prius, Prius C
	Lexus	CT200h, IS300h, ES300h, GS300h, RX450h, LS600hL
Honda Taiwan	Honda	CR-Z
Yulon Nissan	Infiniti	Q50S Hybrid, QX60 Hybrid (year-end)
CMC	Mitsubishi	Outlander Plug-in Hybrid (year-end)
Source: The companies