New vehicle sales last month rose 5.5 percent from May to 32,631 units, beating market expectations of a flat performance, as moderating local COVID-19 infections gave the market a boost, data released by the nation’s motor vehicle offices showed yesterday.
That represented an annual expansion of 16.8 percent.
As the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases seems to have peaked, consumers were more willing to visit car dealers, said Hotai Motor Co (和泰汽車), which distributes Lexus and Toyota models in Taiwan.
Photo: Amy Yang, Taipei Times
Hotai was expecting new vehicle sales to be little changed from May, given chip supply constraints and key component shortages due to COVID-19 lockdowns in Shanghai.
During the first six months of the year, new vehicle sales contracted 8.6 percent year-on-year to 203,151 units, the data showed.
With more signs indicating a further improvement in the COVID-19 outbreak, Hotai expects auto sales to climb further this month to about 40,000 units, rising 22.58 percent from last month or 5 percent from a year earlier.
As people are gradually returning to normal life and domestic travel picks up, their willingness to buy vehicles is rising, it said.
The start of the summer vacation would further lend support to auto sales, it said.
Hotai said its new vehicle sales last month rose 2.7 percent to 10,208 units, but sales fell about 10 percent from a year earlier.
Sales of Toyota vehicles more than doubled to 9,026 units, offsetting a 9 percent monthly decline in sales of Lexus vehicles primarily due to the chip crunch, it said.
Hotai retained its position as the top seller, with its market share expanding to 31 percent.
Pan German Universal Motors Ltd (汎德永業汽車), which distributes BMW, Porsche and Mini vehicles in Taiwan, ranked second, posting the strongest growth among its peers, with sales soaring 215.9 percent month-on-month to 2,191 units.
Pan German Universal also saw its market share rise to 6.7 percent.
Ford Lio Ho Motor Co (福特六和), a local subsidiary of US-based Ford Motor Co, ranked third, with sales surging 126.2 percent sequentially to 2,131 units last month.
That gave Ford a market share of 6.5 percent.
Following close on its heels was Honda Taiwan Co (台灣本田), with sales of 2,082 units last month, up 117.1 percent from a month earlier, and a market share of 6.4 percent.
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