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By Lisa Wang / Staff Reporter
RAC Electric Vehicles Inc (華德動能科技) secured a NT$1.5 billion ($50.2 million) syndicated loan to fund capacity expansion after receiving large orders from customers, it said. yesterday the manufacturer of electric buses.
Hua Nan Commercial Bank (華南銀行) acted as lead arranger for the syndicated loan, with participation from 15 other banks, RAC said in a statement.
Lenders oversubscribed the loan by more than 100%, he said.
Photo courtesy of Hua Nan Commercial Bank
RAC won tenders to supply 169 new electric buses to major bus operators in the country, including Capital Bus Co (首都客運), Danan Bus Co (大南客運) and Geya Bus Transport Co (巨業交通), under a government pilot program. . The operators run services in Taipei, New Taipei City, Taichung and Kaohsiung.
Successful bidders will receive a grant of up to NT$10 million per vehicle. The program aims to increase the production of locally manufactured electric buses to 16,000 units per year by 2030.
RAC plans to ship 105 electric buses this year, most of which would be delivered in the second half, he said.
Last year, the Taoyuan-based company delivered 33 electric buses to local bus operators, such as San Chung Bus Co (三重客運), he added.
To meet growing customer demand, RAC’s parent company, Mobiletron Electronics Co (車王電子), spent NT$2.5 billion to build a factory in Taichung so that RAC could expand its capacity. The new plant has an installed capacity of 1,700 electric buses and 6,000 car chassis per year.
The plant is expected to start operations next quarter, RAC said.
Mobiletron holds a 54.64% interest in RAC.
The electric vehicle company has also expanded its business overseas and is working with Sumitomo Corp to ship electric buses to Japan, he said.
RAC delivered the first batch of electric buses to Japan in April for use in Kyushu, he added.
RAC recorded net losses of NT$138.03 million last year, compared to losses of NT$154 million in 2020. Losses per share increased to NT$1.53 million last year, compared to NT$2.03 the previous year.
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