Car sales last month hit a record monthly high for this year mainly because of intensive promotion by suppliers, which offset the impact of a slowing economy, according to government statistics released yesterday.
The statistics compiled by the data communication branch of Chunghwa Telecom Co (中華電信) showed that car sales last month totaled 40,840 units, up 34.9 percent from June and 5.8 percent year-on-year.
Market sources said car vendors had been stepping up their promotion campaigns in an attempt to attract buyers ahead of Ghost Month on the lunar calendar, which begins on Aug. 17 and ends on Sept. 15 this year.
Consumers tend not to buy big items like cars or homes during Ghost Month, so they usually make their purchases before or after that period, the sources said.
With 15 days to go before the start of Ghost Month, car vendors will continue their promotion campaigns, which will likely push car sales up this month to about 25,000 units, up 8 percent from a year earlier, the sources said.
Last month, Hotai Motor Co (和泰汽車), a local agent for Japan-based Toyota Motor Corp, sold 15,500 cars, the highest number in 18 months. Hotai retained its ranking as the largest car vendor in the country, taking a 38 percent market share, which was also a record high for the company for this year.
China Motor Corp (中華汽車) was in second place, with sales of 6,026 units last month and a 14.8 percent market share. Its sales last month beat its earlier estimate of about 5,000 units.
Yulon Nissan Motor Co (裕隆日產) was the third-largest car vendor last month with sales of 4,063 units, which represented 9.9 percent of total car sales in the country.
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