Taiwan’s automobile market staged a rebound last month when sales volume jumped more than 40 percent month-on-month as holiday disruptions faded away, according to statistics released yesterday.
The data show that sales last month rose to about 39,000 units, an increase of 45 percent from February when the Lunar New Year holiday dampened activity. The figure was also 2.8 percent higher than a year earlier.
In February, automobile sales fell to 26,965 units, almost 50 percent lower than January’s 47,936 units, but with business returning to normal after the Lunar New Year holiday, the market witnessed significant sales growth, analysts said.
The strong demand for sport utility vehicles (SUVs) served as a driver for the sales rebound, they added.
Hotai Motor Co (和泰汽車), the local sales agent for Japan’s Toyota Motor Corp, retained the title of largest automobile vendor last month, selling 10,202 units and accounting for 26.1 percent of total sales, the data showed.
Hotai, which also markets the Lexus marque for Toyota, sold 1,146 units of the Lexus NX model last month.
Along with the RX model, Lexus accounts for more than 40 percent of the luxury SUV market, the data showed.
Hotai said Lexus is expected to unveil its latest SUV — the UX — later this year, which should further boost sales for the Lexus brand.
China Motor Corp (中華汽車), which markets cars under the Mitsubishi marque, came in second, after selling 4,683 units, accounting for up to 12 percent of total sales.
Honda Taiwan took a 9.75 percent market share with 3,812 units.
Honda benefited from strong demand for its SUVs and its sales volume rose 57 percent month-on-month and 28.4 percent year-on-year.
In the first quarter, Hotai sold 32,005 units, up 2.2 percent from a year earlier, taking a 28.1 percent share of the market to remain the leading vendor.
China Motor came in second with 13,465 units to account for 11.8 percent of the market followed by Honda Taiwan, which took a 9 percent share after selling 10,216 cars, the data showed.
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