A number of negative factors, including rising consumer debt, have started to weigh on automobile sales, as official figures revealed that the first 20 days of the month had already seen a huge plunge in sales.
According to the latest data from the Ministry of Transportation and Communications, new vehicle sales for the first 20 days of this month stood at only 15,118 units, down 31.4 percent from the same period a year ago.
Statistics for the period from January to March 20 also suggested that first-quarter sales are on a bumpy road, as only 94,470 cars were sold, a 22.6 percent drop from a year ago.
The top-three automakers still maintained their positions in the 79-day period, with Hotai Motor Co (
China Motor Corp (中華汽車), which assembles and distributes Mitsubishi vehicles, was runner-up with a 17.9 percent share, and Yulon Nissan Motor Co (裕隆日產), which makes and markets Nissan cars, was No. 3 with 11.9 percent, according to the ministry's data.
Consumers have become prudent in their spending due to escalating fuel costs, rising consumer prices as well as lower salary increases, Steven Yang (楊湘泉), a spokesperson for Hotai Motor, said in an interview on Feb. 16.
As banks act to tighten consumer credit, most vendors have trimmed sales targets and expect overall revenue to fall by NT$20 billion (US$614 million) this year. They said total sales will not be able to achieve the same growth as last year, which surpassed 500,000 units for the first time in 10 years.
It was late morning and steam was rising from water tanks atop the colorful, but opaque-windowed, “soapland” sex parlors in a historic Tokyo red-light district. Walking through the narrow streets, camera in hand, was Beniko — a former sex worker who is trying to capture the spirit of the area once known as Yoshiwara through photography. “People often talk about this neighborhood having a ‘bad history,’” said Beniko, who goes by her nickname. “But the truth is that through the years people have lived here, made a life here, sometimes struggled to survive. I want to share that reality.” In its mid-17th to
State-run CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) yesterday signed a letter of intent with Alaska Gasline Development Corp (AGDC), expressing an interest to buy liquefied natural gas (LNG) and invest in the latter’s Alaska LNG project, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said in a statement. Under the agreement, CPC is to participate in the project’s upstream gas investment to secure stable energy resources for Taiwan, the ministry said. The Alaska LNG project is jointly promoted by AGDC and major developer Glenfarne Group LLC, as Alaska plans to export up to 20 million tonnes of LNG annually from 2031. It involves constructing an 1,290km
‘MAKE OR BREAK’: Nvidia shares remain down more than 9 percent, but investors are hoping CEO Jensen Huang’s speech can stave off fears that the sales boom is peaking Shares in Nvidia Corp’s Taiwanese suppliers mostly closed higher yesterday on hopes that the US artificial intelligence (AI) chip designer would showcase next-generation technologies at its annual AI conference slated to open later in the day. The GPU Technology Conference (GTC) in California is to feature developers, engineers, researchers, inventors and information technology professionals, and would focus on AI, computer graphics, data science, machine learning and autonomous machines. The event comes at a make-or-break moment for the firm, as it heads into the next few quarters, with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s (黃仁勳) keynote speech today seen as having the ability to
NEXT GENERATION: The company also showcased automated machines, including a nursing robot called Nurabot, which is to enter service at a Taichung hospital this year Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) expects server revenue to exceed its iPhone revenue within two years, with the possibility of achieving this goal as early as this year, chairman Young Liu (劉揚偉) said on Tuesday at Nvidia Corp’s annual technology conference in San Jose, California. AI would be the primary focus this year for the company, also known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), as rapidly advancing AI applications are driving up demand for AI servers, Liu said. The production and shipment of Nvidia’s GB200 chips and the anticipated launch of GB300 chips in the second half of the year would propel