Toyota makes a Wish, unveils first minivan in Taiwan

Toyota Motor Co of Japan will unveil the Wish, its first minivan, today in the Taiwan market, riding on a global trend of increasing demand for recreational vehicles. The planned rollout, however, has created a stir among the company's local peers, including Mazda Motor Corp.

"To some extent, Toyota's Wish will have an impact on Mazda," Hu Kai-chang (胡開昌), chief executive of Mazda Taiwan, said last week while launching a limited-edition Premacy Mazdaspeed minivan with a 2.0-liter engine.

Mazda pioneered in introducing the nation's first minivan in 2001. The Japanese automaker has sold 1,216 Premacy minivans here as of July this year, according to the company.

"We are not worried about being a latecomer [in the minivan segment]," spokesman Steve Yang (楊湘泉) of Hotai Motor Co (和泰汽車), which sells the Japanese vehicles in Taiwan, told the Taipei Times.

As Toyota's Wish has garnered popularity since its debut in Japan in 2002, Hotai aimed to sell 2,000 vehicles per month in Taiwan, Yang said yesterday.

Hotai's monthly sales, if achieved, will beat the best-seller in the class, Mitsubishi Motors Corp's multipurpose van Savrin, said James Chan (詹曜宏), an analyst with Fubon Securities Investment (富邦投顧).

"As Toyota has established an excellent image in the mind of local drivers, Wish certainly has a good chance to overtake Savrin. In addition, fuel economy is also a plus for Wish," Chan said.

Chan expected Toyota's new minivan model will add extra NT$1.5 billion to Hotai's monthly sales.

China Motor Corp (中華汽車), which sells Mitsubishi brand cars in Taiwan, has planned to unveil a revamped version of Savrin later this month to confront the competition from Toyota's Wish model.

In August, China Motor sold 1,700 Savrins, making the model the best-seller in its class. That brought the total vehicle sales of Mitsubishi Savrins to 13,000 cars in the first eight months of this year.

Still, Toyota's new minivan model is likely to squeeze its sales of Camry and Altis sedans, another industry watcher said.

"The rollout of a new model will certainly help boost Hotai's local market share, but it will have a smaller effect in pushing up its earnings," said Henry Miao (苗台生), an analyst with Hua Nan Securities Investment Management Co (華南永昌投顧).

Hotai shares fell 0.93 percent to NT$53.5 on the Taiwan Stock Exchange market yesterday, compared to China Motor's 2.37 rise to NT$43.2.

Maio expected Hotai to boost its 2004 sales to NT$85 billion, exceeding the company's forecast of NT$75 billion. Earnings per share jumped to NT$7 from NT$3.94 last year, according to Maio.