New vehicle sales last month slumped 9.2 percent to 34,403 units from 37,901 units in April as the market took a hit from a nationwide level 3 COVID-19 alert, data compiled by online market researcher U-Car.com showed.
That represented an annual increase of 2.6 percent.
In the first five months of this year, new vehicle sales expanded at an annual rate of 15.1 percent to 193,879 units, the data showed.
Photo: Hou Cheng-hsu, Taipei Times
The monthly decline came unexpectedly, with automakers expecting an uptrend at the beginning of the year that would stretch into the summer, the researcher said.
“It entirely went against the regular pattern, which should have shown sequential growth,” U-Car said. “That indicates that the pandemic has reversed the growth trend in car sales. This is the biggest crisis the local market has faced since the global financial crisis.”
Data from last month showed that sales of Toyota Motor Corp, Ford Motor Co, Honda Motor Co and Nissan Motor Co-brand vehicles shrank by 10 to 30 percent month-on-month, while sales of imported vehicles were flat or rose slightly from April.
Hotai Motor Co (和泰汽車), which distributes Toyota and Lexus vehicles, sold 7,955 units, slumping 27.09 percent from 10,911 in April, giving it a 23.1 percent market share, from 24.1 percent in April.
Yulon Nissan Motor Co (裕隆日產) had the deepest decline among the top-10 vendors, with sales down 36.1 percent to 1,738 units, compared with 2,720 units in April.
Its market share dipped to 5.1 percent — to No. 7 from No. 2.
Mercedes-Benz Taiwan Ltd’s (台灣賓士) ranking rose to No. 2, with vehicle sales soaring 29.1 percent to 2,707 units, giving it a market share of 7.9 percent.
Ford Lio Ho Motor Co (福特六和) was third with sales shrinking 12.4 percent to 2,139 units, with a market share of 6.2 percent.
Despite the dismal showing, Hotai and Yulon Nissan said they do not plan to cut their yearly sales forecast for the local market, pinning their hopes on a quick easing of the outbreak.
Strong growth in the first four months would hopefully provide a cushion for the local market, they said.
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