Taiwan's largest automobile manufacturing conglomerate Yulon Group introduced to the public the first model of its homegrown car brand Luxgen on Aug. 19. The Luxgen 7 multi-purpose vehicle, or minivan, entirely developed in Taiwan, represents Yulon Group's first major step toward its goal of going global. The Luxgen line marks the group's second attempt at own-branding following its “Feeling 101” automobile which hit the market in the mid-1980s. However, at that time only the exterior and interior of that initial model were designed in Taiwan at Yulon's engineering center, while the engine and chassis came from Japan's Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. The new Luxgen 7 MPV is being touted as an intelligent vehicle, equipped with a world-leading THINK+ car PC developed by Taiwan-based HTC Corp. The THINK+ car PC integrates 3.5G telecommunications technology, GPS navigation, multimedia entertainment, vehicle safety, driver setting and system programming functions into one unit. Such a system is usually found in only the highest-priced luxury car models. However, Yulon Group announced that the new model will be priced from just over NT$700,000 ($21,340), some 20 percent less than originally estimated. This shows that Luxgen Motor Co., a subsidiary of Yulon Group, is boldly aiming to grab a significant market share by offering a low-priced luxury automobile. Meanwhile, Chen Kuo-jung, vice chairman of the board of Luxgen, confirmed reports that a unit of China's Dongfeng Motor Group Co. recently purchased a 20-percent stake in Yulon Motor Co.'s Luxgen (Hangzhou) Motor Co., which is based in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province and was established by Yulon and Zhejiang Zhongyu Holding Group.
