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End of ban may aid car imports

Visitors taking advantage of the weekend inspect a variety of cars at the 2004 Taipei International Auto Show during the show's final day yesterday. PHOTO: SEAN CHAO, TAIPEI TIMES

The imported auto market is expected to see growth this year, fueled by the debut of diesel-powered vehicles after the government lifted a two-decade-old ban on their import this month, a car agent association executive told the Taipei Times yesterday.

"The lifting of the ban will not give a quick boost to Taiwan's imported vehicle sales in the first year as car agents still have to wait for the approval of an environmental test before starting to sell diesel-fueled models," said Daniel Huang (黃家煌), an executive from the Taipei Automobile Distributor Association (台北市汽車代理公會).

The association organizes the biannual Taipei International Auto Show, which started on Jan. 3 and ended yesterday, at the World Trade Center.

"But a single-digit expansion is foreseeable," Huang said on the sidelines of the car show.

"The government's attitude toward the environmental test will weigh on growth," he added.

Arthur Liu (劉逸平), an analyst with Hua Nan Securities Investment Management Co (華南永昌證券), said it is still difficult to see a jump in the expansion of imported car sales, citing the fact that only a small number of Taiwan's 23 million people can afford a Mercedes Benz, or a BMW, along with the gradually saturating market here.

Imported cars account for some 25 to 30 percent of the nation's annual auto sales on average, according to Huang.

Taiwan's car sales rose by 8.8 percent to more than 390,000 units last year from a year earlier, according to statistics provided by Hotai Motor Co (和泰汽車), which sells Japanese automaker Toyota's vehicles, including the Lexus brand, in Taiwan.

Huang, who is also a marketing manager for DaimlerChrysler Taiwan, said his company plans to introduce diesel-powered passenger cars into the local market in the middle of the year including their E-Class, C-Class series and G-Class.

Citing air pollution concerns, the government delayed the lifting of restrictions on the import of diesel-fueled vehicles. But diesel-fueled cars are more cost-effective than gas-fueled cars, Huang said, making them more attractive for consumers.

Local drivers currently have to pay NT$22.3 for a liter of 98 unleaded gasoline, which is about 47-percent higher than the same quantity of diesel at NT$15.1 based on the pricing of the state-run Chinese Petroleum Corp (中油).

Most car distributors, however, did not showcase any diesel-fueled autos during the biannual show as they are still gauging the feasibility of selling the cars and are drawing up a timetable for their import, according to the automobile distributor association.

The nine-day car show wrapped up yesterday with fewer visitors, down by 10 percent to 180,000 from the 200,000 recorded in 2000, Huang said. He attributed the drop in visitor numbers to a shorter show that covered fewer weekends than last time.

To mellow the disappointment over fewer visitors, exhibitors saw a 10 to 20 percent surge in orders taken at the show compared to previous years as consumers seem more willing to spend as the economy improves and the annual shopping season of the Lunar New Year approaches, Huang said.

Talking about the trends for this year's auto market, DaimlerChrysler's Eden Tsai (蔡幸玲) said the Chrysler Town & Country model, a luxury sport utility vehicle (LSUV), topped the list of the most frequently-inquired-about models. A Town & Country is priced at about NT$2.5 million.

Taikoo Motors (太古汽車) also expected to see a gradual boom in LSUV sales this year, taking over from popular recreational vehicles and SUVs last year. Benefiting from the booming sales of its SUV model, X-Trail, Yulon Motor Co (裕隆汽車) said last year's earnings reached a record high of NT$8 billion.
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