December 20, 2005
Ford Lio Ho held a release ceremony in mid December for the Ford Escape Hybrid, a sports utility vehicle with both a gasoline-powered engine and an electric motor. This fuel-conserving, environmentally-friendly SUV is the first hybrid vehicle to be offered for sale in Taiwan. Moreover, Taiwan is the first country outside of North America to have the chance to purchase the Escape Hybrid.
Among those in attendance at the ceremony was Eric Liou, chairperson of the Environmental Quality Protection Foundation. Liou showed up to receive an
NTD 1 million environmental award from FLH and express the foundation's support for FLH's decision to release environmentally-friendly vehicles.
The Escape Hybrid, which is being imported by FLH, comes with a sticker price of
NTD 1.88 million. Customs and commodity taxes help make this model cost over
NTD 1 million more than FLH's domestic 2300cc Escape. FLH has called on the government to extend subsidies to consumers who choose to purchase hybrids and other environmentally-friendly vehicles.
FLH says that it will also begin importing the Focus Hybrid from Europe in 2006. The auto company intends to manufacture this model in Taiwan in the future.
The Taipei City Government, which has implemented plan to set up a fleet of environmentally-friendly government-use vehicles, is expected to be the first buyer of the Escape Hybrid.
(United Daily News)
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