New car sales last month rose 7.1 percent from a month earlier and 0.6 percent annually to 34,680 units as a major brand started delivering two new models, Ministry of Transportation and Communications data showed.
Hotai Motor Co (和泰汽車), which distributes Toyota and Lexus models, started delivering the new Toyota Corolla Altis sedan and RAV4 sports utility vehicle following their launch in March.
The ministry records a sale when a vehicle is delivered and given a license plate, not when a sales contract is signed, explaining the delayed boost.
The new models accounted for almost half of Hotai’s sales, the data showed.
The company said it expects the sales momentum to continue into this month.
Overall, Hotai last month sold 11,900 vehicles, up 25.3 percent from a month earlier and 17.2 percent from a year earlier, recording the fastest growth among the nation’s car vendors.
The company continued to lead the market with a 34.3 percent share, the data showed.
China Motor Corp (中華汽車), which markets cars under the Mitsubishi brand, came in second with a 10.8 percent market share after selling 3,746 vehicles. Unit sales were down 1 percent from a month earlier and 2.1 percent from a year earlier.
Yulon Nissan Motor Co (裕隆日產), which sells models under the Nissan brand, was third with sales of 2,974 units, down 1.1 percent from a month earlier and 1.8 percent from a year earlier, for a market share of 8.6 percent.
Honda Taiwan Co (台灣本田) was fourth with a 7.8 percent market share after selling 2,689 vehicles, down 2.5 percent from a month earlier and 8.9 percent from a year earlier.
Mercedes-Benz Taiwan Ltd (台灣賓士) ranked fifth with a 6.5 percent share on sales of 2,238 vehicles, down 11.3 percent from a month earlier and 0.8 percent from a year earlier.
Ford Lio Ho Motor Co (福特六和) came in sixth (4.29 percent), followed by BMW AG (3.81 percent), Volkswagen AG (3.53 percent), Mazda Motor Taiwan (台灣馬自達) (2.66 percent) and Hyundai Motor Co (2.64 percent), the data showed.
In the first four months of this year, new car sales totaled 130,854 units, down 12 percent from a year earlier, with Hotai being the top vendor with a 31.8 percent share, the data showed.
Sales this month are expected to rise to about 36,000 units thanks to continued momentum from Hotai’s new models, analysts have said.
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