Formosa Automobile to sell imported Skoda cars in Taiwan in Q4

Taipei, July 20, 2005 (CENS)--Taiwan's Formosa Automobile Corp. (FAC) will start to sell Skoda cars imported from the Czech Republic on the island in the fourth quarter of the year, and it will also debut Taiwan's first hybrid-power (gasoline and electricity) car in 2007 at the earliest.

FAC's acting president Chen Sheng-kuang said that his company is carrying out a series of restructuring plans, including selling imported Skoda cars. FAC plans to introduce several diesel-engine Skoda sedans into the island, and the target models are being tested by relevant units.

Chen explained that diesel-engine cars would be FAC's secret weapons for tapping local market for commercial vehicles, especially in times of high oil price. If a car runs 200 kilometers per day, Chen says, a diesel-engine sedan can save NT$600,000 (US$18,750 at US$1: NT$32) in annual fuel expenditure.

FAC's second step is to develop and manufacture hybrid-engine cars in Taiwan, Chen said. The company has been cooperating with Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) in developing such vehicles for three years and is trying to cooperate with local companies in the development and production of various key parts for hybrid cars. FAC's parent group, the Formosa Plastics Group (FPG, Taiwan's largest petrochemical conglomerate), is responsible for developing batteries.

Next year, Chen said, ITRI is scheduled to provide 100 hybrid-power cars for tests by the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA). If everything goes smoothly, the acting president added, the first Taiwan-developed hybrid car will be launched in 2007.

Currently, FAC's hybrid-car model will adopt a 600cc gasoline engine employed by the Smart mini car. Chen said that FAC will not rule out cooperating with local automotive-engine maker Advanced Power Investment Co., Ltd. (formerly China Engine Corp.) to develop more powerful engines for hybrid car models.

According to Chen, FAC now owns an annual assembly capacity of about 40,000 cars and is also capable of assembling trucks and buses. FAC's third step is, according to Chen, to handle local truck assembly works for FPG, which procures a lot of heavy-duty trucks from Scania and Volvo.