Taiwan's New-car Sales Increase for 4th Straight Month in Sept.
2009/10/23 | By Quincy LiangTaipei, Oct. 23, 2009 (CENS)--Some 20,138 new cars were sold in Taiwan in September, a 5.6% year-on-year (YoY) increase and 20,000-vehicle-plus volume for the fourth consecutive month to signal recovery in the market, according to the Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC).
All the top-six automakers enjoyed YoY sales increase last month, including Hotai Motor Co. (Toyota) that enjoyed a 17.3% sales increase from that last year, the highest among all local counterparts. In September, Hotai sold 5,950 vehicles, accounting for 38.1% of the overall market, compared to 3,124 vehicles sold by No. 2 China Motor Corp. (CMC, Mitsubishi brand), who reported a 3.0% YoY shipment increase in the month for a 15.8% share.
Most automakers and dealers are optimistic about the market in October. They said that the government's NT$30,000 (US$923 at US$1: NT$32.5) commodity-tax reduction on each sold new 2,000cc-or-smaller car is very likely to stop by year-end, triggering another wave of strong demand in the last few months this year.
In addition, the automakers said, the cost of new cars would further rise because the government's new safety regulations require all new passenger vehicles to have at least two air bags, the anti-lock brake system, and adjustable headlamps.
Sales of new cars in the last three months this year are expected to rise, totally opposite that in all past years. Honda Taiwan forecasted that 21,000 and 22,000 vehicles would be sold in the overall market in October; while at least 22,000 by CMC, and 22,000 to 23,000 units by Ford Lio Ho. Hotai Motor is the most optimistic, predicting that the overall monthly market would increase to about 25,000 vehicles.
| New Car Sales in Taiwan (Jan. - Sept.) | ||||||||
| Make | September | January-September | ||||||
| Volume | YoY | Make | Volume | Share | YoY | |||
| Toyota (Hotai) | 5,950 | 2.9% | Toyota | 73,282 | 38.1% | 17.3% | ||
| Mitsubishi (China Motor) | 3,124 | 11.7% | Mitsubishi | 30,372 | 15.8% | 3.0% | ||
| Nissan (Yulon Nissan) | 2,502 | 41.4% | Nissan | 22,514 | 11.7% | 10.5% | ||
| Honda (Honda Taiwan) | 2,171 | 74.8% | Honda | 16,899 | 8.8% | 9.3% | ||
| Ford (Ford Lio Ho) | 1,508 | 97.1% | Ford | 11,042 | 5.7% | 10.3% | ||
| Mazda (Mazda Taiwan) | 1,000 | 21.1% | Mazda | 8,025 | 4.2% | 5.8% | ||
| Hyundai (Sanyang) | 633 | 86.7% | Hyundai | 4,453 | 2.3% | -14.6% | ||
| Overall | 20,138 | 20.3% | Overall | 192,264 | 100.0% | 5.6% | ||
| Source: MOTC, Hotai Motor. | ||||||||