The Certified Automotive Parts Association (CAPA) program certified 61% more part applications from auto part makers in the first half of 2014, compared to the same period in 2013, according to CAPA, a auto-parts certify body in the U.S. The association also said that 30% more CAPA certified parts entered the market in the same comparison period. The CAPA is a non-profit organization establish...

Taikoo Motors Ltd. of Swire Group, a major automobile dealer in Taiwan, recently announced plans to become the largest automobile distributor on the island. The company will also enter new business lines, including used-car sales and repair and maintenance services. The announcement followed Taikoo's loss of local agent rights for Volkswagen. The German carmaker recently transferred sales righ...

Renault-Nissan recently announced having sold its 200,000th electric vehicle (EV) to lead with 58% market share for zero-emission cars. Together, Renault and Nissan EVs have been driven approximately four billion zero-emission kilometers – enough to circle the earth 100,000 times. Renault-Nissan’s EVs have saved 200 million liters of fuel – enough to fill about 80 Olympic-sized swimming pools, ...

Far Eastern Electronic Toll Collection Co. (FETC), operator of the ETC on highways throughout Taiwan, recently said that it led a delegation of transportation experts and scholars from Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, Colombia etc. to call on the Taiwan Area National Freeway Bureau (TANFB) to learn more about the operation and facilities of the ETC. The successful commercial operation of the E...

Driving in smog, thick fog or dust storm is always high risk due to poor visibility, and a research team led by professor Huang Shih-jiah of National Taipei University of Technology (NTUT) of Taiwan, known internationally for automotive technologies, has mapped out a solution to upgrade driving safety under such risk. By utilizing software algorithms, the NTUT team developed a technology t...

Yen Sun Technology Corp., a Taiwan-listed company specializing in developing and making different types of cooling-fan products, became a tier-1 parts supplier to German luxury-car maker BMW in 2013. Liu Hsian-wen, president of the firm's electronics cooling division, reported that his unit enjoyed a revenue growth of 40% to 50% in 2014 and will continue to see revenues increase in 2015. Accor...

Driven by rapid advancement of information, communication and telecom technologies, vehicle fleet management is becoming an inevitable trend worldwide, especially in industrially advanced nations. According to a new research report from the analyst firm Berg Insight, the number of active fleet management systems deployed in commercial vehicle fleets in Europe was 3.65 million in Q4, 2013. Gro...

Kia Taiwan, the local subsidiary of South Korean automaker Kia Motors Co., recently launched three new car models in Taiwan--the locally assembled compact sedan Morning, as well as the imported Soul light sport utility vehicle (SUV) and Optima medium sedan. The Morning is priced for only NT$479,800 (US$15,993) in Taiwan, making it the least-expansive model in he island's passenger-car mark...

Hotai Motor Co., Ltd., agent of Toyota and Lexus and a major vendor in Taiwan, recently announced encouraging operation results for the first three quarters, including net accumulated earnings of NT$7.17 billion (US$238.9 million), up 25% year-on-year (YoY), and accumulated earnings per share (EPS) of NT$13.12 (US$0.44), compared to NT$10.49 (US$0.35) a year earlier, both being record highs to ma...

Wang Wen-chao, a member of the Group Administrative Office of Formosa Plastics Group (FPG), Taiwan's leading manufacturing conglomerate, recently announced that FPG is planning to set up an automobile assembly plant in Taichung, central Taiwan, to locally produce two light-truck models, the IVECO Daily, in 3.5- and 7-ton versions. Formosa Plastic Transportation Corp. (FPTC), a FPG affiliate, w...