Nissan Cefiro
Place: Magong, Penghu
The Nissan Cefiro is an icon in Taiwan. The car saved the struggling Yulon company, revived the image of Yulon Nissan and crucially changed the domestic car landscape and the spending habits of the Taiwanese people.
Yulon hit its lowest point of sales in 1993, due to a combination of bad marketing and distrust in the quality of Yulon's cars, due to the bad quality of the domestic Yue Loong Feeling/Yulon Arex and by relying on dated products Sunny B310 for a too long time. It especially faced strong competition from Ford Lio Ho and Honda Sanyang. In 1986, Yue Loong Nissan was over two times as popular as Ford Lio Ho outsold Honda Sanyang in 3:1. I don't have numbers for 1992/3, when the situation should have been even worse, but in 1991 Nissan Yue Loong only accounted for 20% of the market, easily left behind by Ford Lio Ho (30%), with Honda Sanyang in third position at 14% and Toyota Kuo Zui at 10.5%. People associated Yulon with low prices and bad quality.
This all changed with the launch of the Cefiro A32. Because the Cefiro had to change the perception of the brand, it was fully built in accordance with Japanese specifications. It replaced the old Cedric Y30 and was launched on the Taiwanese market in 1995. It was very luxurious and being without domestic competitors, it was terrific value too. It had great reviews and the unique selling point of having a tax friendly VQ20 2.0-litre V6 engine. Combined with great marketing, it was a sales hit. Apart from the 2.0, there was the VQ30 3.0-litre V6 engine, which became a hugely successful company car.
Yulon had the permission of changing the Cefiro according to its own taste, so it had a refresh every year for the domestic market, versions with the 3.0 V6 engine had a different grille and taillights, the option of a two tone colour paint. Taiwanese Cefiro's had double the amount of chrome of the international version (known in Europe as Maxima QX) and high end versions came fully-loaded with a beige interior, rear seat refrigerator, bar and a 10-inch SONY TV in the centre console, before unthinkable of a Taiwanese domestic car.
With the Sentra B14 also reaching heights and topping its class, Yulon Nissan was back on track.
Nissan Cefiro
Place: Magong, Penghu
The Nissan Cefiro is an icon in Taiwan. The car saved the struggling Yulon company, revived the image of Yulon Nissan and crucially changed the domestic car landscape and the spending habits of the Taiwanese people.
Yulon hit its lowest point of sales in 1993, due to a combination of bad marketing and distrust in the quality of Yulon's cars, due to the bad quality of the domestic Yue Loong Feeling/Yulon Arex and by relying on dated products Sunny B310 for a too long time. It especially faced strong competition from Ford Lio Ho and Honda Sanyang. In 1986, Yue Loong Nissan was over two times as popular as Ford Lio Ho outsold Honda Sanyang in 3:1. I don't have numbers for 1992/3, when the situation should have been even worse, but in 1991 Nissan Yue Loong only accounted for 20% of the market, easily left behind by Ford Lio Ho (30%), with Honda Sanyang in third position at 14% and Toyota Kuo Zui at 10.5%. People associated Yulon with low prices and bad quality.
This all changed with the launch of the Cefiro A32. Because the Cefiro had to change the perception of the brand, it was fully built in accordance with Japanese specifications. It replaced the old Cedric Y30 and was launched on the Taiwanese market in 1995. It was very luxurious and being without domestic competitors, it was terrific value too. It had great reviews and the unique selling point of having a tax friendly VQ20 2.0-litre V6 engine. Combined with great marketing, it was a sales hit. Apart from the 2.0, there was the VQ30 3.0-litre V6 engine, which became a hugely successful company car.
Yulon had the permission of changing the Cefiro according to its own taste, so it had a refresh every year for the domestic market, versions with the 3.0 V6 engine had a different grille and taillights, the option of a two tone colour paint. Taiwanese Cefiro's had double the amount of chrome of the international version (known in Europe as Maxima QX) and high end versions came fully-loaded with a beige interior, rear seat refrigerator, bar and a 10-inch SONY TV in the centre console, before unthinkable of a Taiwanese domestic car.
With the Sentra B14 also reaching heights and topping its class, Yulon Nissan was back on track.