New vehicle sales in Taiwan plunged 20.6 percent year-on-year to 40,624 units last month, as a global chip shortage continued to take its toll on vehicle sales, statistics released by the Motor Vehicles Office showed.
The figure was lower than an estimate of 44,000 units by Hotai Motor Co (和泰汽車), the nation’s biggest vehicle distributor.
On a monthly basis, vehicle sales edged up 0.8 percent from 40,307 units in December.
As the chip crunch continues to be a major issue, Hotai expects new vehicle sales this month to dip by about 23 percent year-on-year to 21,000 units.
Fewer working days due to the Lunar New Year would also be a factor, Hotai said.
“January is usually a high season for vehicle sales, with automakers launching promotions to boost sales. However, a chip shortage cut production at certain automakers’ plants, leading to a short supply of vehicles last month,” Hotai spokesman Simon Liu (劉松山) said by telephone.
Liu said it was unclear when the chip crunch would clear up.
Hotai, which distributes Toyota and Lexus vehicles in Taiwan, said that supply of Lexus vehicles might be affected by the prolonged chip constraint.
Hotai is today to release its latest forecast for local vehicles sales this year. The car distributor in December estimated that new vehicle sales would grow 2.24 percent to more than 460,000 units this year, compared with 449,900 units last year.
Last month, Hotai sold 12,427 units, plunging 25.4 percent year-on-year, but rising 5 percent month-on-month, as the chip shortage affected Lexus’ sales. Hotai retained its position as the top seller, with a 30.6 percent share of the market.
Mercedes-Benz Taiwan Ltd (台灣賓士) came in second, with auto sales growing 3.2 percent year-on-year or 93 percent month-on-month to 3,280 units last month, accounting for 8.1 percent of the market.
Honda Taiwan Co (台灣本田) ranked third, with sales jumping 25.9 percent annually, but dipping 1.3 percent monthly, to 3,024 vehicles last month.
That gave Honda a 7.4 percent market share.
Pan German Universal Motors Ltd (汎德永業), which distributes BMW, Porsche and Mini vehicles in Taiwan, along with Mercedes-Benz, were the only two companies that enjoyed monthly and annual growth in vehicle sales.
Pan German’s vehicle sales grew 7.7 percent year-on-year, or 63 percent month-on-month, to 2,153 units last month, thanks to the arrival of new vehicles.
The company ranked No. 6, with a market share of 5.3 percent.
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