Starting next month, consumers will find themselves paying an extra NT$500 (US$15.2) to NT$1,000 for a motorcycle produced by Kwang Yang Motor Co (光陽工業), the nation's largest motorcycle maker, as it announced a price hike last week to cope with rising material costs.
The increment translates to a price rise of 5 percent to 10 percent across its current product lines.
"During the past two to three years, increasing utility bills and the cost of raw materials such as steel, rubber and aluminum have placed a large burden on motorcycle makers," said David Chuang (
In recent years, he said, makers had seldom raised scooter prices, preferring to take other measures to bring down costs.
But this is not the case this year.
In July, Yamaha Motor Taiwan Co (
"The overall economic environment is not favorable due to the level of consumers' card debts and higher fuel prices. Our profits are down and it is hard for us to carry further losses," Chuang said.
However, Sanyang Industry Co (
Slow consumer spending this year has hurt both local automobile and motorcycle makers.
Car sales for the first eight months of the year dropped nearly 30 percent, and sales for the whole year are expected to dip to 400,000 units or less, a far cry from the 514,000 units sold last year.
In terms of two-wheelers, 780,000 units were sold last year, an eight-year high.
But this year's outlook will be less rosy and sales look likely to plunge to as low as 720,000 units, Chuang said.
For the first eight months of the year, 477,000 scooters were sold, a decrease of 6.8 percent over the same period last year, according to statistics from Ministry of Transportation and Communications.
PROTECTIONISM: China hopes to help domestic chipmakers gain more market share while preparing local tech companies for the possibility of more US sanctions Beijing is stepping up pressure on Chinese companies to buy locally produced artificial intelligence (AI) chips instead of Nvidia Corp products, part of the nation’s effort to expand its semiconductor industry and counter US sanctions. Chinese regulators have been discouraging companies from purchasing Nvidia’s H20 chips, which are used to develop and run AI models, sources familiar with the matter said. The policy has taken the form of guidance rather than an outright ban, as Beijing wants to avoid handicapping its own AI start-ups and escalating tensions with the US, said the sources, who asked not to be identified because the
Taipei is today suspending its US$2.5 trillion stock market as Super Typhoon Krathon approaches Taiwan with strong winds and heavy rain. The nation is not conducting securities, currency or fixed-income trading, statements from its stock and currency exchanges said. Yesterday, schools and offices were closed in several cities and counties in southern and eastern Taiwan, including in the key industrial port city of Kaohsiung. Taiwan, which started canceling flights, ship sailings and some train services earlier this week, has wind and rain advisories in place for much of the island. It regularly experiences typhoons, and in July shut offices and schools as
Her white-gloved, waistcoated uniform impeccable, 22-year-old Hazuki Okuno boards a bullet train replica to rehearse the strict protocols behind the smooth operation of a Japanese institution turning 60 Tuesday. High-speed Shinkansen trains began running between Tokyo and Osaka on Oct. 1, 1964, heralding a new era for rail travel as Japan grew into an economic superpower after World War II. The service remains integral to the nation’s economy and way of life — so keeping it dazzlingly clean, punctual and accident-free is a serious job. At a 10-story, state-of-the-art staff training center, Okuno shouted from the window and signaled to imaginary colleagues, keeping
Arm Holdings PLC approached Intel Corp about potentially buying the ailing chipmaker’s product division, only to be told that the business is not for sale, according to a source with direct knowledge of the matter. In the high-level inquiry, Arm did not express interest in Intel’s manufacturing operations, said the source, who asked not to be identified because the discussions were private. Intel has two main units: A product group that sells chips for personal computers, servers and networking equipment, and another that operates its factories. Representatives for Arm and Intel declined to comment. Intel, once the world’s largest chipmaker, has become the
RSS