Total scooter sales in the first four months increased 0.32 percent annually to 257,314 units, with sales at Kwang Yang Motor Co (光陽工業) and Sanyang Motor Co Ltd (三陽工業), the nation’s two leading scooter vendors, rising more than 20 percent each to 92,948 and 57,403 units respectively, according the latest government data.
The demand for electric scooters also continues to rise, with sales rising 83.55 percent year-on-year to 33,192 units in the first four months.
Major electric scooter vendor Gogoro Inc (睿能創意) posted record sales of 9,817 units for last month, bringing its cumulative sales in the first four months to 32,125 units and accounting for 12.5 percent of all scooters sold in the nation, the data showed.
Gogoro is scheduled to unveil its new models this week and China Motor Corp (中華汽車) meanwhile plans to introduce its new “e-moving” scooter series next month, while Yamaha Motor Taiwan Co (台灣山葉), Aeon Motor Co (宏佳騰) and Motive Power Industry Co (摩特動力) are all preparing to bring new scooters to market in the third quarter.
While electric vehicles remain a trend, the market should dictate the presence of electric and fossil fuel-powered scooters, Minister of Economic Affairs Shen Jong-chin (沈榮津) said on Friday.
“Fossil fuel-powered scooters have improved and now conform to environmental regulations. Both should be allowed to operate, as we wish to respect market mechanisms,” Shen said on the sidelines of a young designers’ exhibition in Taipei.
The Cabinet under former premier William Lai (賴清德) announced a plan in December last year to ban sales of fossil-fueled scooters by 2035, among other measures, in an effort to reduce air pollution.
Minister of Transportation and Communications Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) was obliged to negotiate earlier this year with eight major scooter vendors in Taiwan due to protests following the announcement, according to the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister paper).
Shen reiterated that the ban would not be implemented. In addition, the government would strive to help traditional scooter shops improve and transform, and would continue providing subsidies to people who buy electric scooters.
His remarks came after a government-run subsidies application Web site was unexpectedly shut down on April 24, raising concerns among consumers as well as electric scooter makers.
Shen confirmed that a NT$606 million (US$19.61 million) budget this year to subsidize electric scooter purchases and charging stations had been used up by early last month.
However, the Ministry of Economic Affairs has proposed a new budget of NT$174.6 million by allocating funds from other areas, which would be available to subsidize purchases of 17,460 electric scooters, he said.
While the new budget is still subject to further discussions at the ministry, the government would continue the program, he added.
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