Importers of foreign-made vehicles plan to raise car prices by up to 6 percent in 2001 to protect their profit margins from being squeezed by Taiwan's weak currency, a Chinese-language newspaper said yesterday.
Swire Pacific Ltd (英商太古集團), which owns the franchises for Volkswagen, Kia Motors Corp and Volvo vehicles in Taiwan, plans to increase prices by between 3 percent and 6 percent for various car models after the Chinese Lunar New Year, the newspaper said.
Mazda Taiwan, which imports the island's fourth-most popular brand, plans to raise prices by at least 2 percent next year, Mazda Taiwan Chief Executive Hu Kai-chan (胡開昌) reportedly said.
The New Taiwan dollar has weakened 6 percent against the US dollar since October, falling to NT$33.17 per dollar in recent trading.
Other importers such as Universal Motor Traders (永業), Capital Motors (中華賓士) and Pan German Motors (汎德) are taking a wait-and-see attitude towards the price hike, the report said.
Taiwan imported 56,872 foreign-made vehicles during the first 11 months of the year, up 14.6 percent from the same period of last year, based on the number of car licenses issued by the Ministry of Transportation and Communications (
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