DJ Taiwan's Formosa Grp, Korea's Daewoo In Elec Car Talks
TAIPEI -- Taiwan's Formosa Plastics Group has begun talks with Daewoo Motor Co. (Q.DMT) of South Korea to jointly developing electric cars, said Y.C. Wang, chairman of the Taiwanese conglomerate Thursday.
Some other automakers from Korea and the U.S. are also possible partners for the Formosa Group, said Wang, declining to disclose names of these companies.
"It's like buying a machine; we will look all over all the world for the most suitable one. We're looking for the most appropriate partner (for the project)," said Wang.
The Formosa Plastics Group plans to invest US$2 billion in manufacturing electric cars and auto parts, said officials at the group.
Formosa has set the annual capacity at 500,000 electric cars and mass production will likely start around 2006, according to officials at the group.
The Formosa Group signed a letter of intent with Renault SA (F.RNA) of France in mid-1998 on cooperation in auto sales in Taiwan and manufacturing electric cars. However, talks with the French company have slowed down, according to officials at the Formosa Group.
Meanwhile, the mayor of China's Xiamen City, Hong Yongshi, who met with Wang earlier this week, proposed that the city and the Formosa Plastics Group cooperate on the production of batteries, Wang said, without disclosing the group's position on the issue.
Na Ya Plastics Corp. (Q.NYP), a core unit in the group has been developing batteries used in electric cars, according to Wu Chia-chao, the spokesman for Nan Ya. He added that the company is seeking related technology from Japan.
In addition, the visiting Xiamen Mayor agreed that Xiamen's authorities produce Chinese herbal medicine in Taiwan in cooperation with the Formosa Group.
"It's worth considering" since the Formosa Group is planning to set up a Chinese medical center and a Chinese medical school, Wang said.
Xiamen is a coastal city in China's southern province of Fujian. The city has two Chinese medicine plants, according to Wang.
-By Y.H. Sun; (8862) 2502-2557; yhsun@ap.org
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