Kwang Yang Motor Co (光陽工業), a major manufacturer primarily of gasoline-powered scooters under the KYMCO brand, has pledged to invest NT$4.4 billion (US$142.4 million) in the research and manufacture of electric scooters and battery packs as well as the establishment of electrified infrastructure for sales of electric scooters in Taiwan, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said on Friday.
The InvesTaiwan Service Center on Friday approved the Kaohsiung-based company’s application to participate in the government’s incentive program, the ministry said.
The announcement comes as Kwang Yang is building a business model for the construction of an ecosystem for electric scooters, battery packs and battery-swapping stations around the nation, it said.
Photo: Lu Hsien-hsiu, Taipei Times
Eventually, the company hopes to provide comprehensive electric scooter solutions for individuals, enterprises and government agencies, it added.
Kwang Yang has achieved its goal of setting up 2,600 battery-swapping stations this year, which cover more than 80 percent of Taiwan’s administrative regions and make the company the largest provider of battery-swapping stations in the nation, the ministry said.
In addition, the company plans to carry out research on the reuse of old batteries and their recycling as part of its efforts to achieve its social responsibility and sustainability goals, it said.
InvesTaiwan also on Friday approved plans by three other companies, including machine tool maker Parkson Wu Industrial Co (寶嘉誠工業) and sheet metal processing provider Taiwa Precise Technique Co (台華精技), to establish or expand their manufacturing facilities in the nation, the ministry said.
The “Invest in Taiwan” initiative has to date attracted 1,377 companies to invest more than NT$2.08 trillion in Taiwan, with 10 applications pending review, it said.
The investment figure is expected to reach NT$2.2 trillion by the end of the year, Premier Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) said on Saturday while attending an investment conference focusing on the private sector’s participation in public construction projects.
HANDOVER POLICY: Approving the probe means that the new US administration of Donald Trump is likely to have the option to impose trade restrictions on China US President Joe Biden’s administration is set to initiate a trade investigation into Chinese semiconductors in the coming days as part of a push to reduce reliance on a technology that US officials believe poses national security risks. The probe could result in tariffs or other measures to restrict imports on older-model semiconductors and the products containing them, including medical devices, vehicles, smartphones and weaponry, people familiar with the matter said. The investigation examining so-called foundational chips could take months to conclude, meaning that any reaction to the findings would be left to the discretion of US president-elect Donald Trump’s incoming team. Biden
INVESTMENT: Jun Seki, chief strategy officer for Hon Hai’s EV arm, and his team are currently in talks in France with Renault, Nissan’s 36 percent shareholder Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), the iPhone maker known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團) internationally, is in talks with Nissan Motor Co’s biggest shareholder Renault SA about its willingness to sell its shares in the Japanese automaker, the Central News Agency (CNA) said, citing people it did not identify. Nissan and fellow Japanese automaker, Honda Motor Co, are exploring a merger that would create a rival to Toyota Motor Corp in Japan and better position the combined company to face competitive challenges around the world, people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday. However, one potential spanner in the works is
Call it an antidote to fast fashion: Japanese jeans hand-dyed with natural indigo and weaved on a clackety vintage loom, then sold at a premium to global denim connoisseurs. Unlike their mass-produced cousins, the tough garments crafted at the small Momotaro Jeans factory in southwest Japan are designed to be worn for decades, and come with a lifetime repair warranty. On site, Yoshiharu Okamoto gently dips cotton strings into a tub of deep blue liquid, which stains his hands and nails as he repeats the process. The cotton is imported from Zimbabwe, but the natural indigo they use is harvested in Japan —
HON HAI LURKS: The ‘Nikkei’ reported that Foxconn’s interest in Nissan accelerated the Honda-merger effort out of fears it might be taken over by the Taiwanese firm Nissan Motor Co has become the latest buyout target in Japan as it explores a merger with Honda Motor Co and faces an overture from Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團) internationally. Shares in Nissan yesterday jumped 24 percent, the most on record, to hit the daily limit, after the two Japanese automakers acknowledged that talks are ongoing to better position themselves for competitive challenges during a time of upheaval in the global auto industry. Foxconn — a Taipei-based manufacturer of iPhones, which has been investing heavily in factories to build electric vehicles — has also
RSS