Sales of new cars jump 20 percent as demand rises

Taiwan's new-car sales rose more than 20 percent last month from a year earlier, due to strong market demand amid a recovering economic climate, government statistics showed yesterday.

The increase was also due to consumers' speeding up purchases to avoid an anticipated price hike by automakers as well as strong replacement demand, said Steven Yang (楊湘泉), spokesman for Hotai Motor Co (和泰汽車), a domestic dealer for Japan's Toyota Motor Co.

To reflect a strengthening yen, both China Motors Corp (中華汽車), the nation's largest automaker, which manufactures Mitsubishi models, and Yulon Motor Co (裕隆汽車), Taiwan's third-largest automaker, which assembles Nissan vehicles, announced Thursday they will raise prices by around 2 percent.

The nation's fourth-largest automaker, Ford Lio Ho Motor Co (福特六和), said yesterday it will lift prices by 2 percent to 2.5 percent. The new pricing will take effect April 13.

The number of locally made vehicles applying for license plates, an indicator of new vehicle sales, increased 21.4 percent to 43,063 units last month, according to the latest statistics by the Ministry of Transportation and Communications.

Kuozui Motors Ltd (國瑞汽車), the nation's second-largest automaker, which assembles Toyotas, led sales with 10,407 units, up 37.8 percent from the same period last year. China Motors was the runner-up with 9,147 units last month, up 45.7 percent from a year ago.

Yulon Motor registered a year-on-year decline of 26.4 percent with 6,578 units last month, while Ford Lio Ho was the fourth with 4,598 units sold, up 11.4 percent from a year earlier.

Honda Taiwan Co (台灣本田), for the second month in a row, beat Mazda Taiwan (馬自達) to grab the No. 5 position due to strong sales of its recreational vehicle, the CR-V. Honda sold 2,110 units last month, up 176.1 percent year-on-year.

Taiwan's new-car market is projected to rise by 7 percent to 440,000 vehicles this year, Hu Kai-chang (胡開昌), chief executive officer of Jaguar Taiwan, said on Wednesday.

But according to industry sources, carmakers and other forecasters may have to revise their outlook upward to around 500,000 units this year, an eight-year high, if the post-election political uncertainties cease to weigh on the car market.