Yulon Motor - History

History

Incorporated in September 1953 as a machinery company by Ching-Ling Yen, today Yulon Motors 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. This pattern is being again realized by Malaysia's Proton. During 1953-1960 an era of "passive protection" reigned and Yulon grew with the assistance of protectionary tariffs of 40-60%. Parts and components received substantially lower tariffs to help fledgling carmakers.

Yulon tried very hard across the world to find a foreign partner for building cars, but it wasn't until 1956 that an American company, Willys, agreed to share technology. The next year Yulon began its long-lasting partnership with Nissan.

While the first Yulon model was a 1956 jeep, with engine production beginning in September 1956, passenger car assembly only started in 1960 with the Bluebird after an agreement with Nissan was signed in 1957. While primarily building Nissans and other cars under license, Yulon did design at least one car–the 1986 Feeling 101. Until the introduction of the Nissan branded Cefiro (A32) in 1996, the various license-built Nissans had all been branded Yue Loong (Yulon after 1992).