Hotai Motor Co (和泰汽車), which distributes luxury Lexus brand vehicles in Taiwan, aims to sell 10,000 of the new Lexus crossover sport utility vehicles (SUVs) next year, given a surprisingly high number of preorders for the models, which come with either a gasoline or hybrid engine, it said yesterday.
Hotai said it has since the middle of last month received more than 3,000 orders for the revamped NX series vehicles, almost tripling the orders it received in 2017 for the previous models.
Toyota Motor Corp first sold the NX series in Taiwan in 2014.
Photo: Amy Yang, Taipei Times
“We are surprised by the strong preordering,” Hotai president Justin Su (蘇純興) said on the sidelines of the vehicle launch in Nantou County. “The growing popularity of SUVs in Taiwan helps.”
“We believe there is the potential to sell 10,000 units of the new Lexus NX series, but the supply of chips and other key components could curtail shipments,” he said. “But we are less affected by the chip crunch than others.”
It is likely to take at least three months for Lexus vehicle buyers to receive their cars, Su said.
Pent-up demand and economic growth are expected to push new car sales in Taiwan past 460,000 units next year, up from about 450,000 units this year, Su said.
Even after the impact of supply constraints on chips and other factors, Su said he adjusted upward his forecast from 440,000 units.
Hotai expects sales of its vehicles to grow next year from this year’s target of 145,000 units.
The five Lexus NX models launched yesterday include two hybrid vehicles, as Toyota has set the goal to electrify its lineup.
In September, Hotai introduced the first of its electric vehicles, the Lexus UX 300e.
The new Lexus NX models are priced from NT$1.63 million to NT$2.73 million.
Hotai has cut the prices to between NT$30,000 and NT$60,000 less than the preorder prices.
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