Hotai Motor Co (和泰汽車), which distributes Toyota and Lexus vehicles in Taiwan, yesterday said it expects the nation’s overall new car sales for this year to remain at a relatively high level of 440,000 units, amid a stable economic recovery.
Moreover, the government is expected to continue its five-year tax subsidy program on new car purchases, which would further stimulate sales this year, Hotai president Justin Su (蘇純興) said at a media gathering in Taipei.
Last year, total new car sales in Taiwan grew 1.1 percent annually to a 12-year high of 444,669 units, with Hotai retaining its top position by selling 128,084 units, according to data compiled by local motor vehicle branches.
The company posted full-year revenue of NT$177.36 billion (US$6.05 billion), representing a 2.77 percent annual increase from NT$172.58 billion in 2016, which it attributed to better sales of its three benchmark models: the Corolla Altis sedan, RAV4 compact SUV and Sienta minivan.
Last year was the 17th consecutive year that Corolla Altis ranked as the best-selling car in Taiwan, with sales of 39,887 units, data showed.
Hotai said it has set a sales target of 131,000 cars for this year — including 115,000 Toyota and 16,000 Lexus models — on the back of new model launches, up from 128,084 units last year.
Hotai yesterday unveiled a redesigned version of the Lexus LS 350 luxury car.
It also plans to introduce new versions of the Toyota Yaris and Toyota Alphard in the first half of this year, the company said.
Overall, Hotai aims to increase its local market share from 28.8 percent last year to 30 percent this year, the company said.
Tough competition has put pressure on the company since last year, partly because of the higher penetration of imported vehicles in the local market, it added.
Last year, Hotai saw its domestic market share fall 2.9 percentage points from 31.7 percent the previous year, while Mercedes-Benz Taiwan Ltd (台灣賓士) grabbed a 6.3 percent share, up from 5.7 percent the year before.
Industry data showed that Mercedes-Benz sold 28,017 cars in Taiwan last year, a 12.3 percent increase from the 24,950 units it sold in 2016. That was the highest sales growth among imported car brands.
Hotai shares dropped 2.37 percent to close at NT$329 in Taipei trading yesterday, underperforming the broader market, which edged down 0.49 percent.
China has claimed a breakthrough in developing homegrown chipmaking equipment, an important step in overcoming US sanctions designed to thwart Beijing’s semiconductor goals. State-linked organizations are advised to use a new laser-based immersion lithography machine with a resolution of 65 nanometers or better, the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) said in an announcement this month. Although the note does not specify the supplier, the spec marks a significant step up from the previous most advanced indigenous equipment — developed by Shanghai Micro Electronics Equipment Group Co (SMEE, 上海微電子) — which stood at about 90 nanometers. MIIT’s claimed advances last
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) has appointed Rose Castanares, executive vice president of TSMC Arizona, as president of the subsidiary, which is responsible for carrying out massive investments by the Taiwanese tech giant in the US state, the company said in a statement yesterday. Castanares will succeed Brian Harrison as president of the Arizona subsidiary on Oct. 1 after the incumbent president steps down from the position with a transfer to the Arizona CEO office to serve as an advisor to TSMC Arizona’s chairman, the statement said. According to TSMC, Harrison is scheduled to retire on Dec. 31. Castanares joined TSMC in
EUROPE ON HOLD: Among a flurry of announcements, Intel said it would postpone new factories in Germany and Poland, but remains committed to its US expansion Intel Corp chief executive officer Pat Gelsinger has landed Amazon.com Inc’s Amazon Web Services (AWS) as a customer for the company’s manufacturing business, potentially bringing work to new plants under construction in the US and boosting his efforts to turn around the embattled chipmaker. Intel and AWS are to coinvest in a custom semiconductor for artificial intelligence computing — what is known as a fabric chip — in a “multiyear, multibillion-dollar framework,” Intel said in a statement on Monday. The work would rely on Intel’s 18A process, an advanced chipmaking technology. Intel shares rose more than 8 percent in late trading after the
FACTORY SHIFT: While Taiwan produces most of the world’s AI servers, firms are under pressure to move manufacturing amid geopolitical tensions Lenovo Group Ltd (聯想) started building artificial intelligence (AI) servers in India’s south, the latest boon for the rapidly growing country’s push to become a high-tech powerhouse. The company yesterday said it has started making the large, powerful computers in Pondicherry, southeastern India, moving beyond products such as laptops and smartphones. The Chinese company would also build out its facilities in the Bangalore region, including a research lab with a focus on AI. Lenovo’s plans mark another win for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who tries to attract more technology investment into the country. While India’s tense relationship with China has suffered setbacks