Taiwan Today

At a launching ceremony Nov. 17, Yulon Motor Co. Ltd. announced the creation of a new car brand the “tobe,” the second brand established by Yulon after the creation of Luxgen in January of this year. Yulon also showcased to the press two cars manufactured by tobe, the tobe M’car (pronounced “my car”) and the tobe M’car EV (electric vehicle). The tobe M’car is assembled in Taiwan. Its stamping die and transmission are made by Geely Automobile Holdings in mainland China, a partner of Yulon, while its interior is designed by Yulon Tobe Motor Co. Ltd. These tobe-made parts can be exported to the mainland in the future, said tobe chairman Chen Kuo-rong. Each M’car costs NT$400,000 (US$12,450), Chen said, adding that such a price puts the car within the reach of the average consumer. The M’car is currently being sold in Vietnam, and talks are under way to export the model to the Philippines as well, Chen said. As to the M’car EV, tobe would like to start selling the M’car EV in Taiwan before exporting it to the mainland, Chen said. But this requires government support in building up an EV infrastructure. Some policies currently being discussed include the Ministry of Economic Affairs’ five-year exemption of commodity taxes on EVs and the creation of 10 EV-friendly “demonstration regions.” In regards to the mainland market, Chen noted, many mainland companies claim to have been developing electric cars, but none of them has successfully produced such vehicles as of today. The mainland government currently has in place a three-year policy whereby it subsidizes EVs in certain cities by roughly NT$300,000 per vehicle, Chen noted. If the tobe M’car EV and the Luxgen MPV EV can take advantage of this opportunity, Yulon might be able to capture half of the mainland Chinese market—which would generate billions of New Taiwan dollars in revenue every year for Yulon, Chen said. (TYH-HZW)