Yulon of Taiwan Sets Up New Subsidiary for EV Battery Services
2010/06/21 | By Quincy LiangTaipei, June 21, 2010 (CENS)--Yulon Group, the largest carmaker in Taiwan, recently announced its setting up of a new subsidiary to provide battery recharging, exchange, leasing services for electric vehicles (EVs).
Capitalized at US$9.4 million, the new firm will set up a platform to handle battery usage, exchange and maintenance in Taiwan for Yulon's LUXGEN and tobe own-branded EVs.
To secure ample supply of lithium-ion cells for EV batteries, Yulon invested in E-One Moli Energy Corp. (Molicel) of the Taiwan Cement Group, as well as acquiring a seat on the board. Yulon's senior executives said that the firm is targeting to partner with leading battery or material suppliers in Taiwan.
The Taiwan Cabinet recently put in place a program to trial run at least 3,000 EVs in 10 major cities on the island over the next three years, coupled with a per-EV subsidy of US$3,125. With the trial run to start on July 1, Yulon believes state-run firms as the CPC Corp. and Taiwan Power will take too long to construct EV charging stations, so will build its own battery charging/exchange/leasing network throughout Taiwan.
Yulon plans to provide battery-related services at its LUXGEN and tobe dealers by the end of the year, and set up charging stations at CPC gas stations and Taiwan Power service points island-wide.
Industry sources said that Yulon is also aggressively planning to tap China's EV market, ready to duplicate the model set up in Taiwan across the Taiwan Strait.