The government in Taiwan is keenly joining forces with manufacturers to develop electrical vehicles (EVs), offering handsome subsidies to encourage homegrown production of key EV parts and components, according to Jang-Hwa Leu, director general of Industrial Development Bureau (IDB) under the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA).

Leu told Digitimes in a recent interview that with its solid ICT technology prowess and strong creativity among its talent, Taiwan can outperform other countries in supplying automotive electronics for EVs and building a firm presence in the sector of new energy vehicles.

The Ministry of Transportation has newly unveiled a set of three-year subsidization measures designed to encourage the development of electric buses in Taiwan, allowing makers to get a maximum subsidy running up to 70% of the cost of an electric bus as long as the bus adopts 50% of parts and components manufactured locally, according to Leu.

He said IDB is held responsible for screening the local content rate for electric buses assembled in Taiwan, and will focus the localization screening on vehicle control unit (VCU), battery management systems, smartization, cross beam, longitudinal beam, stators, rotors, driving systems and silicon steel plates.

Leu said it has been difficult for Taiwan electronics firms to tap into the supply chains of traditional automakers, but this is not the case with the EV sector. He continued that Taiwan electronics makers can now sell parts and components for EV production through an open platform, such as the "EV software and hardware open platform" newly set up by Foxconn.

Leu said the platform, dubbed MIH, is designed to tackle the current development pain points of EVs through being "software-defined" — creating software and hardware separation and enabling an open ecosystem.

Leu said Foxconn requires the support of Taiwan's existing EV components suppliers, and the government will do its best to help Foxconn, its EV joint venture with Yulon Motor, and other related supply chain players to enter cooperation with international automakers and EV startups.

Industrial Development Bureau director general Jang-Hwa Leu
Photo: Digitimes file photo