The cost of fuel continues to rise and awareness of the need to stem carbon dioxide emissions is increasing in much of the developed world, but neither of these issues appears to have had much of an impact on Taiwan's car-buying public, which continues to buck international trends and fills its garages with gas-guzzling and polluting sport-utility vehicles (SUVs).
In recent years sales of these hardy automobiles -- designed for use on off-road terrain but more commonly found plying the nation's far-from-rugged highways -- have increased by over 200 percent.
Six years ago SUV sales accounted for a mere 6 percent of the market, yet according to the latest statistics, sales of both domestically manufactured and imported SUVs now account for approximately 21 percent of the nation's total auto sales of roughly 500,000 a year.
"There are more SUVs taking to the roads in Taiwan every year. In a way it's like a fashion trend. [SUVs] are popular in the US and Japan, so local people see them as a must-have," said William Chu (朱嘉偉), editorial manager of the online automotive publication Car News International "I think one of the biggest incentives to purchasing SUVs is about `face' rather than convenience and suitability."
It may be a matter of face for car buyers looking to impress, but for the millions of non-SUV owners the increase in the number of off-road vehicles with large engines taking the streets poses a clear and present danger.
Cars with engine capacities of 2,500cc produce anywhere from 75g to 150g more carbon dioxide per kilometer than regular automobiles. And with more and more SUVs taking to the roads in an already environmentally unbalanced nation, the impact of SUVs on the health of Taiwan could be far reaching.
"The health risks posed by SUVs have become an issue in Europe and Japan, but the environmental impact of such vehicles is not being taken seriously in Taiwan at the moment," said Steven Yang (楊湘泉) of the Hotai Motor Company. "It is a critical issue, though, and one that certainly needs addressing sooner rather than later."
In Europe, the US and Japan the dangers posed by SUVs are already starting to be addressed. Environmental groups have staged demonstrations and national EPA offices have also taken up the cause. Larger SUVs are considered to be so polluting and dangerous, in fact, that one UK-based environmental-protection group recently went so far as to say that "[SUVs] should carry a cigarette-packet-style health warning."
One of the leading factors behind the increased popularity of SUVs in Taiwan is local car manufacturing. As recently as five years ago all SUVs were imported and ownership was something only the rich could enjoy.
Taiwan-centered car-manufacturing giants -- Toyota, Honda, Nissan, Ford and Mitsubishi -- have successfully carved out their own pieces of the lucrative SUV-sales pie. SUV prices have been slashed to all-time lows and now locally produced SUVs cost as little as slightly-higher-end four-door family sedans.
"The cost of an SUV has come down so much that many of the locally manufactured 1,600cc and 1,800cc [SUVs] now cost as little as a 2,000cc family sedan," said Yang. "When people upgrade or renew their cars now they can afford the type of vehicle that four or five years ago would have been totally out of their price range. It's not surprising that so many people want to own one now."
RSS