New car sales reached 45,430 units last month, rising 8.5 percent from the previous month as sales picked up steam ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday.
However, sales decreased 4.3 percent from a year earlier due to fewer working days, data compiled by local motor vehicle branches indicated.
Hotai Motor Co (和泰汽車), which distributes Toyota and Lexus models locally, continued to be the market leader.
VEHICLE NUMBERS
The company sold 14,101 cars, accounting for a 31 percent market share, mainly supported by sales of Toyota’s Corolla Altis sedans and the new Sienta minivan.
Hotai said it sold 2,088 Sienta minivans, beating its target of 2,000 sales.
Yulon Nissan Motor Co (裕隆日產) and China Motor Corp (CMC, 中華汽車) posted double-digit percentage increases, supported by large-scale promotions.
Yulon, which sells Nissan and its own-brand Luxgen (納智捷) cars, saw vehicle sales increase 63.3 percent to 5,816 units, and remains the second-largest dealer with a 12.8 percent market share.
The company said it sold 485 units of its flagship Luxgen S3 sedan and 1,544 units of Nissan Tiida passenger cars.
China Motor, which sells Mitsubishi sedans and its own-brand CMC commercial models, was third with a market share of 10.4 percent after car sales increased by 37.1 percent to 4,707 units.
Honda Taiwan Co (台灣本田), which commands a 7.6 percent market share, saw its sales grow 3.2 percent monthly to 3,437 cars.
Mercedes-Benz Taiwan Co (台灣賓士), the nation’s largest luxury car distributor, reported a sales increase of 30.1 percent to 2,861 units, data showed.
UPBEAT OUTLOOK
Dealers generally gave positive sales outlooks for this year, saying that the government’s five-year subsidy program and the launches of new models would help sustain growth.
The subsidy program offers car owners a NT$50,000 discount on commodity taxes when they purchase a new car six months before or after they export or scrap their old car.
Hotai is planning to launch several new models this year, including a new subcompact crossover SUV, the Toyota C-HR in March and the luxury sports coupe Lexus LC 500 in the third quarter, a Hotai official said by telephone yesterday.
“We are to announce detailed plans for this year’s new model launches next week,” he said, declining to elaborate.
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