Yulon, Dongfeng to jointly make Luxgen SUV, MPV

Shanghai, September 23 (Gasgoo.com) Taiwan's Yulon Motor Co., Ltd., which will make SUVs, MPVs and small vehicles jointly in Hangzhou with Dongfeng Motor, plans to launch its 2.0L Luxgen SUV by October 2010 in the mainland Chinese market, media reported today.

Dongfeng's subsidiary in Hangzhou has bought a 20% stake in Luxgen Motor Co., the mainland unit of Yulon Motor. Dongfeng and Yulon are planning on working together this year to build a new range of vehicles for both the China's mainland and Taiwan markets.

Yulon will introduce a Luxgen sport-utility vehicle (SUV) model to the new joint venture first and multi-purpose vehicles (MPV) later. The Dongfeng-Yulon venture will launch its first vehicle, a 2.0L Luxgen SUV model, by October 2010.

In Taiwan, Yulon has launched a seven-seat MPV measuring 4,834 x 1,876 x 1,768mm, featuring a 2.2L turbocharged inline four-cylinder engine. The MPV can reach a maximum of 177 horse power and 280Nm torque.

The joint venture will have an annual capacity of 540,000 vehicles, to produce 300,000 Dongfeng commercial cars and 240,000 Yulon passenger cars a year. The new venture may start production by the end of this year or early 2010.

Luxgen (Hangzhou) Motor Co was established in 2007 by Yulon Motor Co and Zhejiang Zhongyu Holding Group with a total investment of 4.6 billion yuan ($680 mln).