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Yulon Motor Co., Ltd. () is a Taiwanese automaker and importer. Taiwan's biggest automaker as of 2010, Yulon is known for building
Nissan is a Japanese multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer headquartered in Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan. The company sells its vehicles under the ''Nissan'' and ''Infiniti'' brands, and formerly the ''Datsun'' brand, with in-house ...
models under
license A license (American English) or licence (Commonwealth English) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit). A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another part ...
. The original
romanization In linguistics, romanization is the conversion of text from a different writing system to the Latin script, Roman (Latin) script, or a system for doing so. Methods of romanization include transliteration, for representing written text, and tra ...
of the company's name is Yue Loong, but in 1992 the company renewed its logo and switched to the shorter ''Yulon'' name. Historically, it is one of Taiwan's "big four" automakers. The company has over time evolved as a holding company that encompassed multiple public entities such as Yulon-Nissan Motor, Yulon Financial, Yulon Rental, Carnival Industrial Corporation and others. The group currently has a rivalry with Hotai Motor Group as the two largest Taiwanese automotive companies. Yulon created a new brand to sell self-designed cars,
Luxgen Luxgen Motor Co., Ltd. is a northern Taiwanese automotive manufacturer headquartered in Miaoli County, Taiwan, and a wholly owned subsidiary of Yulon, Yulon Motor. Luxgen was founded in 2009, and the company's motto is "Think Ahead." From 2010 t ...
, in 2010. As of 2017 it had a revenue of NT$99 billion (US$3.4 billion) and about 12,680 employees.


History

Incorporated in September 1953 as a machinery
company A company, abbreviated as co., is a Legal personality, legal entity representing an association of legal people, whether Natural person, natural, Juridical person, juridical or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members ...
by Ching-Ling Yen, today Yulon Motor Co., Ltd. is part of the Yulon Group, a Taiwanese conglomerate. The company is associated with the creation of a Taiwanese auto industry aided by its government. During 1953–1960 an era of "passive protection" reigned and Yulon grew with the assistance of protectionary tariffs of 40–60%.Chen, Chia-wen, p. 24 Parts and components received substantially lower tariffs to help fledgling carmakers. Early on, Yulon looked for foreign partners, but it wasn't until 1956 that an American company,
Willys Willys (pronounced , "Willis") was a brand, brand name used by Willys–Overland Motors, an American automobile company, founded by John Willys, John North Willys. It was best known for its design and production of World War II–era Willys MB, ...
, agreed to share technology. The next year Yulon began its long-lasting partnership with Nissan.Chen, Chia-wen
, p. 26
While the first Yulon model was a 1956 jeep, with engine production beginning in September of that year, passenger car assembly only started in 1960 with the Bluebird after an agreement with
Nissan is a Japanese multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer headquartered in Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan. The company sells its vehicles under the ''Nissan'' and ''Infiniti'' brands, and formerly the ''Datsun'' brand, with in-house ...
was signed in 1957. While primarily building Nissan models and other cars under license, Yulon has designed and produced at least one original family car, the 1986 Feeling 101. (Yulon began producing wholly original products again starting in 2009 with the debut of its
Luxgen Luxgen Motor Co., Ltd. is a northern Taiwanese automotive manufacturer headquartered in Miaoli County, Taiwan, and a wholly owned subsidiary of Yulon, Yulon Motor. Luxgen was founded in 2009, and the company's motto is "Think Ahead." From 2010 t ...
brand.) Until July 1994, when they changed to using Nissan badging, the license-built Nissan automobiles had all been branded Yue Loong (Yulon after 1992). The Nissan branded Cefiro A32 entered production in February 1996 and became Taiwan's best selling vehicle.


Assembler

With production bases located in China,
Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...
and
Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...
, Yulon makes license-built versions of many automakers' models. The companies it manufactures in cooperation with include
Chrysler FCA US, LLC, Trade name, doing business as Stellantis North America and known historically as Chrysler ( ), is one of the "Big Three (automobile manufacturers), Big Three" automobile manufacturers in the United States, headquartered in Auburn H ...
, Geely, GM,
Mercedes-Benz Mercedes-Benz (), commonly referred to simply as Mercedes and occasionally as Benz, is a German automotive brand that was founded in 1926. Mercedes-Benz AG (a subsidiary of the Mercedes-Benz Group, established in 2019) is based in Stuttgart, ...
,
Mitsubishi The is a group of autonomous Japanese multinational companies in a variety of industries. Founded by Yatarō Iwasaki in 1870, the Mitsubishi Group traces its origins to the Mitsubishi zaibatsu, a unified company that existed from 1870 to 194 ...
and
Nissan is a Japanese multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer headquartered in Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan. The company sells its vehicles under the ''Nissan'' and ''Infiniti'' brands, and formerly the ''Datsun'' brand, with in-house ...
. It assembles most of the vehicles from
complete knock down A knock-down kit (also knockdown kit, knocked-down kit, or simply knockdown or KD) is a collection of parts required to assemble a product. The parts are typically manufactured in one country or region, and then exported to another country or r ...
kits. The company has used its design and engineering expertise to localize its manufactures to suit Taiwanese tastes. Yulon began building Nissan automobiles under license in the 1960s. For many years the company worked with the Taiwanese government to develop an indigenous auto industry, aided by special tax reductions for modifying or creating their own designs.
Proton A proton is a stable subatomic particle, symbol , Hydron (chemistry), H+, or 1H+ with a positive electric charge of +1 ''e'' (elementary charge). Its mass is slightly less than the mass of a neutron and approximately times the mass of an e ...
of Malaysia was developed using a similar package of government promotions and interventions. Yulon's first attempt in doing so was a car called the Feeling 101, based on the Nissan Auster/Stanza of the period. The company followed up with facelifted versions such as the Feeling 102 and the Arex, but the Feeling was discontinued in 1995. Starting in July 1994, Yulon began using Nissan rather than Yulon badging on their products. While Yulon continues to manufacture vehicles for sale on the Taiwanese market, as of 2010 it also imports
Nissan is a Japanese multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer headquartered in Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan. The company sells its vehicles under the ''Nissan'' and ''Infiniti'' brands, and formerly the ''Datsun'' brand, with in-house ...
, Infiniti, and
Renault Renault S.A., commonly referred to as Groupe Renault ( , , , also known as the Renault Group in English), is a French Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer established in 1899. The company curr ...
models for sale in the domestic Taiwanese market.


Nissan

Yulon has maintained a strong cooperative relationship with Nissan since 1957. After the 1985 passing of a Taiwanese act, the Automobile Industry Development Act (AIDA), Yulon accepted Nissan taking a 25% stake. Nissan maintained their ownership in Yulon until at least 2003 when a restructuring created Yulon-Nissan Motor Co Ltd, a separate company that focuses on complementing Nissan's mainland China activities with research, design, and manufacturing assistance.


Brands

Yulon has marketed cars under three in-house brands: their cars were originally sold as Yue Loong (Yulon from 1992 until 1995), but the company switched to using Nissan badging in 1994. They then went on to create two new in-house brands: Luxgen (released in 2009), and Tobe (released in 2010, ended 2013).


Luxgen

The first Taiwanese auto brand, Luxgen (), was created by Yulon in 2008. On 18 August 2009, Yulon revealed the first car for its new
Luxgen Luxgen Motor Co., Ltd. is a northern Taiwanese automotive manufacturer headquartered in Miaoli County, Taiwan, and a wholly owned subsidiary of Yulon, Yulon Motor. Luxgen was founded in 2009, and the company's motto is "Think Ahead." From 2010 t ...
brand. Luxgen cars are developed under Yulon's R&D center HAITEC, using engines and transmissions provided by other companies. As of 2010, Luxgen products are sold in Taiwan and
Oman Oman, officially the Sultanate of Oman, is a country located on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in West Asia and the Middle East. It shares land borders with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. Oman’s coastline ...
.


China Motor Corporation (CMC)


Tobe

Yulon's second brand, Tobe (), was established in 2009. From 2010 to 2013, Tobe sold its only model, a re-badged, re-designed Geely Panda/LC called the Tobe M’Car, in Taiwan and Vietnam. Plans to enter other
emerging market An emerging market (or an emerging country or an emerging economy) is a market that has some characteristics of a developed market, but does not fully meet its standards. This includes markets that may become developed markets in the future or we ...
s exist. However, poor sales and the brand image of being a rebadged Geely led to the end of the brand in 2013.


Production bases

Yulon has a number of production bases in several countries, including China,
Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...
,
Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...
until 2013,
Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...
and probably
Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...
.


China

Initial production base investment in China for Yulon was buying 5% ownership in a Southern China production base in the 1990s. 2000 saw another, larger Chinese production base investment this time of 25%. The latter acquisition was probably in Fengsheng Motors, a Dongfeng Motors subsidiary. As of 2003, Yulon had 25% ownership in the subsidiary yielding access to production bases in Huadu District,
Guangzhou Guangzhou, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Canton or Kwangchow, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Guangdong Provinces of China, province in South China, southern China. Located on the Pearl River about nor ...
, Guangdong and Xiangfan, Hubei.


Philippines

In 1999 Yulon bought a 75% ownership of Nissan's newly built production base in Santa Rosa, Laguna state.Increasing Globalization and AFTA in 2003: What are the Prospects for the Philippine Automotive Industry?
Rafaelita A.M. Aldaba. Philippine Institute for Development Studies. Page 35, "Nissan: Worriedly Awaiting the Signal from Japan".
This occurred after the Nissan Motor Company pulled out of the Philippines after the Asian market crises caused poor sales in the country. In 2013, it was announced that Nissan Motor Company of Japan will be again taking over Nissan in the Philippines. This comes after dismal sales and poor model updates from Yulon Taiwan, which ranked Nissan Philippines well below local rivals from Toyota, Mitsubishi, and Hyundai—not reflective of its ranking as no. 6 global carmaker.


Joint ventures

All of Yulon's joint ventures in mainland China are with Dongfeng Motor.


Dongfeng Yulon

A joint venture with Chinese automaker Dongfeng, called Dongfeng Yulon (or Dongfeng Luxgen), was set up in 2009 and will manufacture Yulon's
Luxgen Luxgen Motor Co., Ltd. is a northern Taiwanese automotive manufacturer headquartered in Miaoli County, Taiwan, and a wholly owned subsidiary of Yulon, Yulon Motor. Luxgen was founded in 2009, and the company's motto is "Think Ahead." From 2010 t ...
models in China after the completion of a planned production base in
Hangzhou Hangzhou, , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ; formerly romanized as Hangchow is a sub-provincial city in East China and the capital of Zhejiang province. With a population of 13 million, the municipality comprises ten districts, two counti ...
in 2011. The cars will be sold in China. On July 8, 2019, Luxgen signed MoU with Mongolian company AGT Auto to build its first car assembly factory in Mongolia. Dongfeng Yulon entered bankruptcy in 2020.


Fengshen Automobile

In 2003, Yulon had part ownership in a subsidiary of Dongfeng Motor, Fengshen Automobile Co Ltd.


See also

* List of companies of Taiwan * List of Taiwanese automakers * List of Nissan vehicles Yulon Motors has built under license * List of motor scooter manufacturers and brands


References


External links


Yulon Motor
– English official site {{Automotive industry in Taiwan 1953 establishments in Taiwan Car manufacturers of Taiwan Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1953