Dubai: Taiwan's car manufacturer Luxgen has chosen the Dubai International Motor Show to launch its brand in the Middle East. Gulf News took the opportunity to talk to Luxgen's CEO K.C. Hu about the choice and his further plans with the brand.
Gulf News: Could you briefly describe the history of your company: When was it founded, who are the owners, what is your current product line-up?
K.C. HU: Luxgen Motors was established last year and is owned by the Yulon Group in Taiwan. Yulon initially started off as a textiles company and grew to incorporate operations in the automotive, IT, construction and investment industries.
Today, automotive manufacturing is the core business of Yulon Group. Apart from auto parts, marketing and auto related products, Yulon Motors and its automotive manufacturing subsidiary China Motor, hold trade and technical agreements with Nissan, GM, Mitsubishi, Fuso and Chrysler, and the newly self-designed brand — Luxgen Motor.
With over 55 years of automobile manufacturing experience on behalf of several global automobile brands, the Yulon Group has accumulated a vast amount of experience, know-how and capacity essential for developing an independent automobile company.
The ability to combine Taiwan's world-leading IT industry with automotives has given Yulon an opportunity to create Luxgen, a line of completely unique and sophisticated vehicles with distinctive attributes.
What is the target group for your cars in general (in terms of pricing, style, usability?)
We have an inaugural fleet of four vehicles. However, Luxgen is a brand which is designed to appeal to drivers who want the latest advanced features, cutting edge technology and who are conscious of their environmental footprint.
Due to our streamlined and efficient sourcing and production capability, the vehicles will be very reasonably priced.
Is this your first appearance at a motor show in the Middle East?
The Dubai International Motor Show marks the international debut of the Luxgen brand. This is the first time the Luxgen brand, which combines Taiwan's extensive automotive manufacturing capabilities with its highly advanced IT industry, will be shown outside of Taiwan. This is a major event for us which marks the beginning of our aggressive campaign in the GCC region. We will be presenting Luxgen's inaugural fleet of intelligent vehicles designed to ‘think ahead' of its owners.
The fleet consists of a luxury executive transport vehicle, the Luxgen CEO, a powerful and spacious vehicle suitable for both families and those with active lifestyle, the Luxgen SUV, the luxurious Luxgen MPV and the Luxgen EV+ — the world's first seven-passenger electric MPV
When will there be a sales branch in the UAE?
We have started discussions with potential partners in the GCC and they all feel the project is promising. We are seeking partners who share the same spirit and thinking in terms of product, sales and service. We hope to start selling Luxgen vehicles in the GCC from the fourth quarter of next year.
Where will Luxgen cars be positioned amid other Japanese, Korean and Chinese brands?
We see ourselves as a completely unique brand and hence cannot compare ourselves to other Asian automotive brands. We are a premium brand which aims to offer the consumer ‘affordable luxury' i.e. our vehicles will include a range of standard features which are currently only available in some selected luxury vehicles as additional features.
However, we will sell our vehicles at an affordable price point, making these luxury features affordable to a wide range of people.
These features, such as lane departure warning system and 360 degree view, will be combined and centralised on one central onboard portal which we have dubbed Think+
Do you think it is the right time to launch a new brand here?
The global automotive industry has been hit hard by the recession and many larger and smaller players in the industry have been subject to mergers and acquisitions.
This situation has given us a number of unique opportunities which have enabled us to launch at this time. Firstly, owing to these mergers and acquisition projects, more R&D resources are released back into the market. We are now able to find better partners that specialise in chassis and powertrain development to help us design and develop highly competitive products.
Our R&D capability, in terms of key components, design and engineering, is up to par with other major global brands. With regards to safety and occupant protection, we have reached a level of around four to five stars according to European standards which is a fantastic achievement.
Secondly, we have partnered with Taiwan's leading IT experts to develop world-class automotive electronic systems, some of which have never been seen in cars before. Together with our partners we have combined innovative resources and designed products that set us apart from our competitors and further strengthen our position as makers of the worlds first truly "intelligent cars".
Thirdly, with environmental awareness on the rise, we have chosen to work with ACP, whose world-leading electric propulsion technology provides a fantastic solution which not only delivers both power and performance but is 100 per cent environmentally friendly too.
We are now proud to launch the world's first electric seven-passenger MPV and we are positive that demand for this product will be very high.
Is there a market for ‘green' cars in a region where fuel is cheap?
Consumers choose ‘green' cars for both their econ-omical and environmental benefits.
We suspect that in this region, the major factor in the decision to ‘go green' will be the positive effect on the environment rather than the cost savings. In addition, we feel that it is our duty as a responsible automotive maker, to develop vehicles which allow drivers to reduce their carbon footprint. Hence, we have invested heavily in the research and development of alternative energy propulsion technologies.
What are your expansion plans?
Our current marketing strategy is focused on the brand DNA, which is Luxury and Genius. We aim to continue integrating Taiwan's advantages in IT and ET capabilities to develop more types of vehicles in different segments.
As for the territories we aim to target, we will start from building some hubs, such as Taiwan, Mainland China, GCC and Central America. The GCC will be the core for us to expand to the neighbouring areas and countries.
