Yulon GM, Sea-Land to build hybrid car

Taiwan-based Yulon GM Motors Co. Ltd. (Yulon GM) recently announced its partnership with domestic Sea-Land Auto Gas System Co. to counter high fuel prices and promote the locally assembled 1,800cc Buick Excelle compact sedan, a hybrid capable of running on gasoline and liquid petroleum gas (LPG). Yulon GM is a joint venture between Americas GM and local Yulon Motor Co. to locally produce GM cars. The company said that high gasoline prices have driven increasingly more car owners to modify vehicles into hybrids. About NT$32,000 (US$1,054) from the total fuel cost can be saved per month if a car runs 50 kilometers every day on LPG. Hybrids generally attract fuel-economy-minded drivers, especially high-mileage professional drivers. Earlier, local auto distributors have tried promoting hybrids but were largely unsuccessful because of the small price gap, as well as inadequate refueling infrastructure for LPG. Currently, there are only 25 stations on the island of Taiwan. To alleviate the shortage of refueling stations, the government has decided to build a total of 150 LPG stations by 2012. (June 25, 2008)