Taiwan’s Foxconn Technology and Yulon to develop electric cars together

Apple supplier owns 51% of new unnamed joint venture

A Luxgen concept car from Yulon at last December's Taipei car show.  A Luxgen concept car from Yulon at last December's Taipei car show.  (CNA photo)

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Apple Inc. supplier Foxconn Technology and local carmaker Yulon Group have formed a joint venture to manufacture vehicles together, CommonWealth Magazine reported.

Foxconn, founded by tycoon Terry Gou (郭台銘), has long cherished a dream to make cars, the magazine said. Yulon was founded in the 1950s and has manufactured Nissan and Mitsubishi cars as well as its own brand Luxgen, with a market share in Taiwan only surpassed by Toyota.

The new joint venture, which has not received a name yet, includes a 51-percent share of NT$8 billion (US$266 million) from Foxconn and a 49-percent worth more than NT$7.6 billion from Yulon.

Foxconn already has a project planning electric cars with the Italian-American Fiat-Chrysler group (FCA).

According to CommonWealth, Yulon had been searching for years for more financial backing for its affiliate HAITEC, the research and development center it founded in 2005.

The two companies would complement each other well: Foxconn with the money and rapid manufacturing capability, HAITEC with the R&D and car production experience.