Taiwan's Yulon to sell electric cars to Geely Auto

Taiwan's Yulon Motor Co. will sell electric cars to China's mainland automaker Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd., senior executives at both companies said Tuesday.

The electric cars will be based on Geely's small Panda gasoline-powered car. Yulon Motor will be responsible for research and development and converting the Panda into an electric car powered by lithium-ion batteries, Yulon Motor President Chen Kuo-Rong said.

"They (Geely) also want to develop an electric vehicle but their technology isn't mature yet," said Chen.

The electric cars will be sold both in Taiwan and mainland China under Yulon Motor's Tobe brand, said Chen.

Shipments to the mainland will likely start in 2011, said Chen.

Lau Jinliang, vice president of Geely parent Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co., confirmed the two companies are cooperating on electric cars.

"Parallel to this (cooperation), we will continue developing our own electric vehicles," Lau told Dow Jones Newswires.

The Geely Group is China's largest privately owned auto maker by sales.

The two companies' executives were speaking at a cross-strait auto makers forum in Taipei.

In addition to shipping electric cars to mainland China, Yulon Motor will also import semi-knocked down kits of Geely's Panda for assembly and sale in Taiwan under the Tobe brand. The Taiwanese firm will start selling gasoline-powered versions of the Panda in January, targeting annual sales of 5,000 units in 2010, said Chen.

Yulon Motor is also awaiting approval from the Chinese government to set up a bus-making joint venture with Dongfeng Motor Group Co., said Chen.

Yulon Motor will hold 50% of the planned CNY4.65 billion bus-making venture, and the paid-in capital will be CNY1.55 billion.

Yulon Motor heads Taiwan's Yulon Group which also manufactures cars for Japan's Nissan Motor Co., and its 50%-owned unit, Yulon Nissan Motor Co., sells cars in the mainland market through a joint venture with Dongfeng Automobile Co.

Dongfeng Motor Group is the parent of Dongfeng Automobile.

Another Yulon group member, China Motor Corp., makes passenger and commercial cars in Taiwan, and commercial cars in mainland China through its joint venture with Mitsubishi Motors Corp.