Taiwan carmaker to launch new MPV in 2009

Taiwanese automotive company Yulon Motor Co is set to launch its first 7-seater MPV, marketed under the Luxgen brand sometime in mid-2009. The new Luxgen MPV will be using the previous generation Renault Espace’s platform, with Luxgen’s own styling and a choice of two engines - a 2.0 liter normally aspirated motor producing 145hp and 185Nm of torque, and a 2.2 liter turbocharged motor producing 200hp and 280Nm of torque, both developed by Yulon’s powertrain division.

The company said the MPV project took the Toyota Estima as a benchmark for its development, and the final product will compete with similiar sized MPVs like the Estima such as the GM/Buick GL8 and the Honda Odyssey. It will feature lots of electrical goodies such as cameras located around the MPV to assist with parking and maneuvering, a night vision system, a lane departure warning system, and etc.

Yulon is targetting the Chinese market with this new MPV. “The car segment in mainland China has evolved, where a car has to be more than merely four wheels plus an engine. Any prospective carmaker has to adopt a quality-oriented strategy. Ours is to cull the R&D expertise achieved in Taiwan's technology industry to build smarter cars, which I think would be feasible in the mainland,” said Yulon’s CEO Kenneth Yen.

There is a split opinion on what the MPV in the images you find in this post is. Some say it is a new MPV from Roewe based on its alloy wheel design, but as the vehicle was snapped testing in Taiwan, another camp says it is in fact the new Luxgen MPV.