Hotai Motor Co (和泰汽車), the local sales agent for Toyota Motor Corp, yesterday raised its forecast for the nation’s total auto sales for this year to 410,000 units, the highest level since 2009, as customers continue to replace their old cars with new ones.
The forecast was higher than the 390,000 units estimated by Hotai in February. Last year, the nation’s total car sales were 378,456 units.
The highest-ever new car sales, of 514,000 units, was recorded in 2005 and motorists are now replacing their cars, Hotai’s director and chief officer of Toyota and Hino operations Eli Huang (黃明顯) said.
Huang said yesterday that the average age of cars in Taiwan is 12 years, older than the average for other countries.
To encourage customers to replace older models, automakers have launched many attractive products, including Yulon Nissan Motor Co’s (裕隆日產) Super Sentra sedan and Hotai’s Toyota Altis sedan, Huang said.
Oil consumption for new cars is about 18km per liter, which is much more efficient than cars manufactured 10 years ago, he said, adding that current new-car prices are also considered affordable by customers.
The company has adjusted its sales target this year to 137,760 units, up from the 132,600 cars it set in February. The new target, if achieved, will be the highest for Hotai after 2005, when the company sold 150,000 cars.
“We will even strive to push the sales to 140,000 units this year, although that figure is very challenging as we might run into supply problems,” Huang said.
As for next year, Huang said the car market might grow by 20,000 units to 30,000 units from this year, and Hotai would try to sell more than 142,000 cars.
From January through Aug. 20, new-car sales in this country stood at 263,080 units, up 12.5 percent from the previous year, with Hotai leading the market, selling 85,933 cars with a market share of 32.7 percent, data showed.
To achieve its sales target, Hotai yesterday launched its hybrid Lexus NX, its first foray into the domestic small and medium-size luxury SUV market.
Sales of small and medium-sized luxury SUVs in Taiwan increased to 38 percent of the total SUV sales of about 24,292 units from January through Aug. 20, up from 2 percent in 2007, Hotai’s chief officer of Lexus Wu Chia-yen (吳家炎) said.
Priced between NT$1.89 million and NT$2.19 million (US$63,000 and US$73,000) per car, the Lexus NX is designed for urban use and its smaller size makes it easier to park and maneuver, Wu said.
The company aims to sell 1,200 Lexus NX cars by the end of this year, Wu said, adding that the company had already received 650 orders by yesterday.
Sales of hybrid cars account for 9 percent of sales of Toyota cars in Taiwan, while 70 percent of Lexus models sold in Taiwan are hybrids, according to Hotai.
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