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標 題: 國外網站介紹台灣車業近況
發信站: 戰意若狂 (Wed May 1 23:01:37 2002)
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http://www.cens.com/linerpt/20020315072.html
Local Automakers Look Abroad for Growth
By QUINCY LIANGFor decades Taiwan's automakers have been l
ittle more than assemblers of cars designed by foreign partn
ers and sold almost exclusively to the local market. But tho
se days are fast coming to an end as the changing auto busin
ess and maturing design and production capabilities on the i
sland thrust local producers onto the global stage.
The industry's new emphasis on car development and export
has also been prompted by an increased willingness of foreig
n makers to hand over more responsibility to their partners
in Taiwan, to cut costs. Saturated local markets have also f
orced domestic automakers to look overseas for growth opport
unities.
As their businesses evolve, local automakers are turning t
heir R&D divisions into contract design centers for the Asia
-Pacific car models of big international brands. They are al
so supplying a growing volume of auto parts for overseas aut
o plants.
Industry sources state exports of parts for Taiwan-designe
d autos added at least US$50 million to the island's auto-pa
rts earnings in 2001. The benefits of this increased trade f
all not only to local automakers, but also to their original
equipment (OE) parts suppliers on the island as well.
Opportunity in Tough TimesForeign automakers also see seve
ral benefits in delegating design tasks to their Taiwanese p
artners. The biggest of these is perhaps the cost savings it
allows--an attraction that becomes more persuasive as compe
tition rises in the global auto market.
"It is a difficult time for international carmakers," obse
rves a local industry insider. "But this has created a great
deal of opportunity for local automakers, who used to be li
mited to an assembly role."
In order to seize this opportunity, several local automake
rs have been strengthening their development capabilities, e
specially in exterior styling and interior designs. The resu
lts of such efforts have paid off in the past two years in h
igher exports of parts and components to foreign partners' o
versea car plants in the region."
Firms well poised to capitalize on this trend are Kuozui M
otors Ltd. (partner of Toyota of Japan), Ford Lio Ho Motor C
o. (Ford of the U.S.), Yulon Motor Co. (Nissan of Japan), an
d China Motor Corp. (Mitsubishi).
In the past few years, the four local automakers have each
invested NT$1 billion to NT$2 billion (US$28.57 million to
US$57.14 million at US$1:NT$35) per year in new car developm
ent. Their affiliated car plants in the Asia-Pacific region
and even in North America have adopted Taiwan-made auto part
s for local production. As foreign automakers come to rely m
ore on the design capabilities of their partners in Taiwan i
n coming years, Taiwanese adaptations of international car m
akes are expected to enter production in mainland China, Ind
ia, Pakistan, and other countries in the region.
From Importer to ExporterKuozui, the No. 2 auto seller in
Taiwan in 2001, recently disclosed that it has begun exporti
ng about 3,000 to 3,600 sets of both exterior sheet-metal bo
dy parts and interior parts for its restyled version of the
Corolla Altis sedan to Toyota's overseas plants in Thailand,
the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Vietnam. Toyota's
Pakistan plant will soon begin producing the new sedan mode
l, creating demand for about 800 sets of auto lamps, sheet-m
etal parts, and interior accessories per month from Kuozui.
A senior Kuozui official says that Toyota has also chosen
his company as one of its development centers for left-drive
car models in Asia. Early last year, Kuozui opened the Kuoz
ui Technical Center (KTC) building at its Chungli plant in n
orthern Taiwan. Under the commission of Toyota, KTC supports
new-model development at Toyota's plants in the Asia-Pacifi
c region and will become a major supplier of parts and compo
nents to Toyota's overseas plants.
"Kuozui has transformed from a mere overseas partner and t
echnology recipient of Toyota into a technology exporter in
recent years," says Su Yen-huei, chairman of Kuozui. "After
years of effort, we are now an important player in Toyota's
'world car' strategy. From now on, we will develop new car m
odels in conjunction with Toyota, export some parts to Toyot
a's overseas plants, and import some low-cost parts and comp
onents from Toyota's plants in Southeast Asia. The integrate
d division-of-labor scheme will reduce costs and strengthen
the competitiveness of our products."
Kuozui will begin locally producing the KTC-redesigned Cam
ry mid-sedan in March this year and soon thereafter begin ex
porting parts for the model to Toyota plants in Thailand, th
e Philippines, and Indonesia. The Taiwan company estimates t
hat it will export more than 1,000 sets of Camry parts a mon
th.
According to officials, the company participated in the st
yling, exterior design, and chassis development process for
the new Camry.
Regional RoleFord Lio Ho recently demonstrated a Taiwan-ve
rsion of the Escape sport utility vehicle (SUV) featuring a
more luxurious interior and redesigned look. The automaker's
president, Jeffery Shen, says that his company will begin e
xporting both exterior and interior parts to Ford's car plan
ts in the Philippines and Vietnam in March for local assembl
y there. The company expects to ship at least 1,000 sets of
parts in the first year.
Shen also adds that his company's affiliates in the Asia-P
acific region will procure more Taiwan-made parts after John
Parker, a former president of Ford Lio Ho, assumes his new
job as the managing director of Ford's Association of Southe
ast Asian Nations (ASEAN) operations.
Shen says that Ford U.S. has already agreed to bring its T
aiwan partner onboard to develop the next-generation Tierra
sedan model, which will be sold under both the Ford and Mazd
a brands. Ford has also decided to locally produce its new T
ierra sedan at most of its plants in Asia, the president say
s, creating new export opportunities for his firm.
York Chen, vice president of Ford Lio Ho's marketing and s
ales division, says that Ford's American headquarters has ex
pressed strong interest in the auto-lamp sets and bumpers de
veloped by the local subsidiary. Chen reports that his compa
ny has sent sample products and quotation data to the U.S. h
eadquarters. With about 190,000 Escapes sold annually worldw
ide, the business opportunity will be significant for Ford L
io Ho if it wins the contract, Chen says.
Homegrown for Asian Markets The Yulon Group and its affili
ate China Motor have been the most active among all local au
tomakers in strengthening their development capabilities.
The success of car models redesigned by Yulon for the Taiw
an market have turned the head of its Japanese partner Nissa
n, which has encountered serious financial problems througho
ut its global operations in recent years--with the exception
of Taiwan. Nissan has sought closer cooperation with Yulon
in a bid to cut costs, and has even sold a 75% stake of Niss
an Motor Philippines Inc. (NMPI) to the Taiwanese partner. W
ith the experience of developing Taiwan's first homegrown au
tomobile, the 1,600cc Feeling sedan, Yulon is well positione
d to develop models that are especially suited to the pan-As
ian market.
With support from Nissan, Yulon established the Yulon Asia
Technical Center (YATC) in late 1998, which is Nissan's fir
st auto research and development center in Asia outside of J
apan and its fourth such facility in the world. The other th
ree are located in Japan, the United States, and England.
Yulon has proven its strong development capability by turn
ing out several popular car models, including redesigned Sen
tra and Cefiro models. The company also exports auto parts f
or these redesigned models to Nissan plants in the Philippin
es, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, and Mexico. The company i
s now responsible for the development of both the external a
ppearance and the interiors of some Nissan sedan models curr
ently produced in mainland China.
Yulon recently demonstrated its first redesigned recreatio
nal vehicle (RV) model, the 2,000cc Serena Q-RV, in which YA
TC also participated in chassis-extension development. Accor
ding to a senior Yulon official, his company developed the n
ew 10-seat RV model not only for the domestic market but als
o for export to the Philippines. Yulon plans to test the new
model in the Philippines early this year and begin volume p
roduction late in the year or in early 2003.
Yulon also plans to integrate its auto-parts logistic oper
ations in Taiwan, mainland China, and the Philippines as a r
esponse to Taiwan's entry into the World Trade Organization
(WTO). Chen Kuo-rong, executive vice president of Yulon, say
s that integration will allow Yulon to share auto parts amon
g its plants in the three regions. The project will also pav
e the way for cross-border standardization of auto models to
trim costs, he said.
Developing World Cars China Motor is also playing a vital
role in the global deployment scheme of its Japanese partner
Mitsubishi. The company's China Motor Asia Research & Techn
ology Center (CARTEC) has been chosen by Mitsubishi as one o
f its top overseas development bases for left-drive cars and
commercial vehicles.
Under the commission of its Japanese partner, CARTEC devel
oped the Freeca commercial vehicle, one of Mitsubishi's "wor
ld car" models. China Motor produces the Freeca in Taiwan an
d at its mainland Chinese subsidiary South East Motor Corp.,
a 50/50 joint venture between China Motor and a state-run a
utomaker in Fujian province. It also exports parts and compo
nents to Mitsubishi plants in Thailand, the Philippines, and
Indonesia. In the past few years, the CARTEC-developed Free
ca has been one of the best-selling commercial/RV models in
both Taiwan and other Asian markets.
China Motor president Su chin-yang says that his company s
ent a group of about 40 R&D staffers to Mitsubishi's headqua
rters to participate in the design of the first mini-car mod
el to be jointly developed by DaimlerChrysler and Mitsubishi
.. China Motor will begin production of the mini car in Taiwa
n and mainland China as early as 2004, and will also export
parts for the model to Mitsubishi's overseas plants.
GM Tie-up?Another local automaker, Formosa Automobile Corp
.., recently announced that it would map out future operation
and investment plans in conjunction with the progress of ne
gotiations for General Motors' (GM) acquisition of Daewoo Mo
tor of South Korea, Formosa's technical partner.
Formosa Automobile is an affiliate of the Formosa Group, T
aiwan's leading petrochemical conglomerate. The automaker be
gan producing its first Daewoo car model, the 2,000cc Magnus
sedan, in late 2000.
Chang Jin-lung, president of Formosa Automobile, says that
his company's future car production plans will fit into the
integrated manufacturing strategy of both GM and Daewoo. Th
e Taiwanese automaker has also announced that it will delay
the production of its Formosa III car model to after mid-200
3 from the 2002 year-end launch originally planned, due to m
arket concerns in both Taiwan and mainland China.
According to an industry insider, the Formosa III will be
based on one of Daewoo's 1,600cc compact sedans, most likely
the next-generation Nubira or Lanos. Formosa recently rolle
d out its Formosa II mini-car model, based on Daewoo's 800cc
Matiz. Aware of the limited domestic car market, the source
adds, Formosa originally hoped to make the car for export a
s a supplier to Daewoo.
Formosa Automobile will demonstrate a liquefied petroleum
gas (LPG)/gasoline dual-fuel version of its Formosa I (Magnu
s) car model as early as March, Chang says. The company also
has plans to develop pure LPG-fuel models in the future. Ch
ang says his company is carefully evaluating several dual-fu
el systems from Australia, Italy, the United States, and Tai
wan, and will soon select one of them to power the Formosa I
..
The president adds that his company will seek a technology
-transfer deal with the selected system developer and locall
y produce the dual-fuel systems to cut costs. Formosa hopes
to keep the cost of its dual-fuel model to within about NT$3
0,000 (US$855) of the gasoline-fuel version. The company als
o plans to demonstrate pure-LPG-fuel versions of its Formosa
I and II models once the market for alternative fuel cars m
atures.
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