Japanese Carmakers and Dealers to Buy More From Taiwan

Taipei, March 6, 2009 (CENS)--Thanks to the sharp appreciation of the Japanese yen against the greenback, some Japan-based automakers and auto dealers have decided to increase purchases of auto parts and assembled vehicles from Taiwan.

A senior executive of China Motor Corp. (CMC), the local assembler of Mitsubishis, recently disclosed that Mitsubishi Japan has decided to buy more Taiwan-made auto parts to cut cost and upgrade competitiveness.

Jeffery Nemeth, president of local Ford Lio Ho Motor Co., a subsidiary of Ford of the U.S., said a group of Ford dealers in Japan came to Taiwan late 2008 and were highly impressed with the product quality and company management at Ford Lio Ho. So, the president said, these Japanese dealers decided to procure Taiwan-assembled Ford Escape sport utility vehicles (SUVs) to be sold in Japan this year, as well as plan to also buy locally-assembled Ford Mondeo, Focus, and i-Max mini multi-purpose van (MPV) in the future.

Some local automakers have been exporting more locally assembled automobiles through their foreign technical partners' sales channels, including CMC, Ford Lio Ho, Yulon Motor Co. (in partnership with Nissan Motor of Japan), and Kuozui Motors Ltd. (Toyota).

Yulon, for example, began exporting the first batch of locally assembled Nissan Cabstar 3.5-ton diesel light trucks to Mexico late 2008 and plans to export 2,000 such vehicles this year.

A senior CMC executive said that CMC is conservative toward its vehicle and parts exports this year.