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.
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