Luxgen Motor Co (納智捷汽車) yesterday unveiled its new URX sports utility vehicle (SUV), saying the model is expected to account for half of its sales next year.
The company had received more than 1,000 pre-orders for the SUV as of Sunday and seeks to raise its sales target to 500 units a month next year, from a minimum of 350 units, Luxgen president Tsay Wen-rong (蔡文榮) told an unveiling ceremony in Taipei.
Sanyi Township (三義), Miaoli-based Luxgen Motor is a subsidiary of Taiwanese automaker and importer Yulon Motor Co (裕隆汽車).
Photo: CNA
The URX, priced at NT$848,000 to NT$1.12 million (US$28,021 to US$37,009) depending on seating capacity, is equipped with augmented-reality display systems and other accessories on par with imported luxury vehicles, Tsay said.
However, buyers would need to pay only NT$798,000 if they take advantage of a government subsidy to replace older cars, he said.
The subsidy program is to end at the end of next year, which would encourage potential buyers to take action, he added.
Regarding the timetable for the launch of fully electric Luxgen vehicles, Tsay urged consumers to be patient.
The company would “wow” people at the Taipei International Auto Show to be held from Saturday next week to Jan. 5, he said, declining to elaborate.
Overall new vehicle sales this year might total 430,000 to 440,000 units after reaching 393,912 units in the first 11 months, Tsay said.
That went against a forecast by Yulon Motor earlier this year that new vehicle sales might weaken to 400,000 to 410,000 units this year, weighed by an economic slowdown and uncertainty.
However, the yearly figure is bound to increase on the back of dealers aggressively promoting new models, Tsay said, adding that an improving economy and rallies on the local bourse would also lend support.
The auto market is expected to hold steady next year, with a positive outlook, Tsay said in his capacity as chairman of the Taiwan Transportation Vehicle Manufacturers’ Association.
The stimulus program is expected to account for 30 percent of vehicle sales next year, he said, adding that the association would try to have the program extended by another five years at the behest of its members.
The association earlier this month helped a bill that aims to lower tariffs on auto component imports clear a legislative committee review. The bill aims to make locally produced vehicles more competitive against imported ones.
MULTIFACETED: A task force has analyzed possible scenarios and created responses to assist domestic industries in dealing with US tariffs, the economics minister said The Executive Yuan is tomorrow to announce countermeasures to US President Donald Trump’s planned reciprocal tariffs, although the details of the plan would not be made public until Monday next week, Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) said yesterday. The Cabinet established an economic and trade task force in November last year to deal with US trade and tariff related issues, Kuo told reporters outside the legislature in Taipei. The task force has been analyzing and evaluating all kinds of scenarios to identify suitable responses and determine how best to assist domestic industries in managing the effects of Trump’s tariffs, he
TIGHT-LIPPED: UMC said it had no merger plans at the moment, after Nikkei Asia reported that the firm and GlobalFoundries were considering restarting merger talks United Microelectronics Corp (UMC, 聯電), the world’s No. 4 contract chipmaker, yesterday launched a new US$5 billion 12-inch chip factory in Singapore as part of its latest effort to diversify its manufacturing footprint amid growing geopolitical risks. The new factory, adjacent to UMC’s existing Singapore fab in the Pasir Res Wafer Fab Park, is scheduled to enter volume production next year, utilizing mature 22-nanometer and 28-nanometer process technologies, UMC said in a statement. The company plans to invest US$5 billion during the first phase of the new fab, which would have an installed capacity of 30,000 12-inch wafers per month, it said. The
Taiwan’s official purchasing managers’ index (PMI) last month rose 0.2 percentage points to 54.2, in a second consecutive month of expansion, thanks to front-loading demand intended to avoid potential US tariff hikes, the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER, 中華經濟研究院) said yesterday. While short-term demand appeared robust, uncertainties rose due to US President Donald Trump’s unpredictable trade policy, CIER president Lien Hsien-ming (連賢明) told a news conference in Taipei. Taiwan’s economy this year would be characterized by high-level fluctuations and the volatility would be wilder than most expect, Lien said Demand for electronics, particularly semiconductors, continues to benefit from US technology giants’ effort
‘SWASTICAR’: Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s close association with Donald Trump has prompted opponents to brand him a ‘Nazi’ and resulted in a dramatic drop in sales Demonstrators descended on Tesla Inc dealerships across the US, and in Europe and Canada on Saturday to protest company chief Elon Musk, who has amassed extraordinary power as a top adviser to US President Donald Trump. Waving signs with messages such as “Musk is stealing our money” and “Reclaim our country,” the protests largely took place peacefully following fiery episodes of vandalism on Tesla vehicles, dealerships and other facilities in recent weeks that US officials have denounced as terrorism. Hundreds rallied on Saturday outside the Tesla dealership in Manhattan. Some blasted Musk, the world’s richest man, while others demanded the shuttering of his
RSS