The Taiwanese auto market is unlikely to see a turnaround from the current slump if the migration of Taiwanese merchants to China continues, Ford Lio Ho Motor Co (福特六和) president Jeffery Nemeth said in an interview on Monday.
He said an estimated 1.3 million Taiwanese people have moved to China and the situation appears to be getting worse, which is disadvantageous to the local auto market.
Nemeth’s remarks came as the latest government statistics showed the number of new cars sales in Taiwan fell to only 17,324 units — the lowest October level in 20 years.
Industry experts estimated the total number of new cars sold this year may barely reach 230,000 units, after reaching a peak of 514,627 units in 2005.
Domestic automobile makers have agreed to propose several rescue plans, including suggesting the government allow tax breaks to encourage people to replace their old vehicles with new models. They hope to gain the Cabinet’s approval by the end of this year.
Nemeth said that Ford Lio Ho Motor had conducted an internal assessment that took into account the effects of recent financial turmoil and the volatile stock market, concluding that the migration of Taiwanese merchants to China is the primary cause of the slump in domestic auto sales. He said that statistics compiled by the Straits Exchange Foundation showed that nearly 1.3 million Taiwanese had migrated to China.
“These people are a major force of the Taiwanese consumer market, and affects local auto sales for about 100,000 units [a year],” Nemeth said.
Nemeth said he was worried as the migration trend appears to be growing, with the number of migrants to China expected to reach 2 million in the next few years. He said this migration would affaect Taiwan’s auto sales by 130,000 to 150,000 units a year.
In regards to rumors that the Michigan-based company might end its operations in Taiwan, Nemeth said: “Ford is upbeat about Taiwan’s future outlook and will continue our investment and introduce new models to Taiwan. Ford does not plan to leave or end our operations in Taiwan.”
MULTIFACETED: A task force has analyzed possible scenarios and created responses to assist domestic industries in dealing with US tariffs, the economics minister said The Executive Yuan is tomorrow to announce countermeasures to US President Donald Trump’s planned reciprocal tariffs, although the details of the plan would not be made public until Monday next week, Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) said yesterday. The Cabinet established an economic and trade task force in November last year to deal with US trade and tariff related issues, Kuo told reporters outside the legislature in Taipei. The task force has been analyzing and evaluating all kinds of scenarios to identify suitable responses and determine how best to assist domestic industries in managing the effects of Trump’s tariffs, he
TIGHT-LIPPED: UMC said it had no merger plans at the moment, after Nikkei Asia reported that the firm and GlobalFoundries were considering restarting merger talks United Microelectronics Corp (UMC, 聯電), the world’s No. 4 contract chipmaker, yesterday launched a new US$5 billion 12-inch chip factory in Singapore as part of its latest effort to diversify its manufacturing footprint amid growing geopolitical risks. The new factory, adjacent to UMC’s existing Singapore fab in the Pasir Res Wafer Fab Park, is scheduled to enter volume production next year, utilizing mature 22-nanometer and 28-nanometer process technologies, UMC said in a statement. The company plans to invest US$5 billion during the first phase of the new fab, which would have an installed capacity of 30,000 12-inch wafers per month, it said. The
Taiwan’s official purchasing managers’ index (PMI) last month rose 0.2 percentage points to 54.2, in a second consecutive month of expansion, thanks to front-loading demand intended to avoid potential US tariff hikes, the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER, 中華經濟研究院) said yesterday. While short-term demand appeared robust, uncertainties rose due to US President Donald Trump’s unpredictable trade policy, CIER president Lien Hsien-ming (連賢明) told a news conference in Taipei. Taiwan’s economy this year would be characterized by high-level fluctuations and the volatility would be wilder than most expect, Lien said Demand for electronics, particularly semiconductors, continues to benefit from US technology giants’ effort
‘SWASTICAR’: Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s close association with Donald Trump has prompted opponents to brand him a ‘Nazi’ and resulted in a dramatic drop in sales Demonstrators descended on Tesla Inc dealerships across the US, and in Europe and Canada on Saturday to protest company chief Elon Musk, who has amassed extraordinary power as a top adviser to US President Donald Trump. Waving signs with messages such as “Musk is stealing our money” and “Reclaim our country,” the protests largely took place peacefully following fiery episodes of vandalism on Tesla vehicles, dealerships and other facilities in recent weeks that US officials have denounced as terrorism. Hundreds rallied on Saturday outside the Tesla dealership in Manhattan. Some blasted Musk, the world’s richest man, while others demanded the shuttering of his