Hotai Motor Co (和泰汽車), which distributes Lexus and Toyota vehicles in Taiwan, yesterday said it would back and comply with the government’s adoption of new curbs on cheaper auto components, mainly from China, to avert potential unfair competition.
The Industrial Development Administration last year expressed concern over the issue amid fears that it could affect the local market and lead to unfair competition, Hotai spokesman Lai Chih-wei (賴志偉) told investors at its earnings conference in Taipei.
“We were not surprised about the implementation of the new rules in August since the administration had long been talking with local automakers” about the issue, Lai said.
Photo: Amy Yang, Taipei Times
“Our stance is that we support and will fully comply with the regulations,” he said.
Hotai holds a 30 percent stake in Kuozui Motors Ltd (國瑞汽車), which assembles Toyota vehicles in Taiwan, with a majority of the auto parts sourced locally.
The government’s decision to tighten car assembly rules has sparked discussion about the legitimacy of the new regulations, although Hotai and China Motor Corp (中華汽車), which would suffer the brunt of the policy, have voiced their support.
The new regulations require automakers to increase the share of locally manufactured components in new vehicles, which must account for 15 percent of total car parts during the first year, 25 percent in the second year and 35 percent in the third year.
China Motor has to reschedule the launches of new electric vehicles from China’s GM Motor and SAIC Maxus Automotive Co (上汽大通汽車). China Motor assembles and sells GM cars in Taiwan, with up to 90 percent of the components imported from China.
Hotai yesterday retained its full-year business outlook, aiming to sell 170,000 vehicles, including Toyota, Lexus and Hino cars, this year, Lai said.
That means the company’s unit sales would hit an all-time high for a second straight year, following last year’s 166,000 units, he said.
Hotai has accumulated an order backlog of more than 10,000 vehicles due to strong demand, Lai said.
Hotai early this year set a goal to increase its domestic market share to 37.8 percent this year from 34.9 percent last year.
“We are expecting launches of new vehicles and revamped models to stimulate car sales and to grab more market share in the second half,” Lai said.
The company also maintained its forecast that new vehicle sales in Taiwan would reach 450,000 units this year, Lai said.
Hotai is cautious about vehicles sales next year, as the government’s tax incentives for new car purchases are to end at the end of next year, he said.
The company reported that net profit in the first half of the year contracted about 3 percent year-on-year to NT$11.76 billion (US$368.1 million), from NT$12.11 billion in the same period last year. Earnings per share dropped to NT$21.1 from NT$21.74.
The company attributed the decline to a higher base last year, as it was granted a higher quota of Lexus vehicles from Toyota Motor Corp after vehicle production returned to normalcy after the COVID-19 pandemic.
Shiina Ito has had fewer Chinese customers at her Tokyo jewelry shop since Beijing issued a travel warning in the wake of a diplomatic spat, but she said she was not concerned. A souring of Tokyo-Beijing relations this month, following remarks by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi about Taiwan, has fueled concerns about the impact on the ritzy boutiques, noodle joints and hotels where holidaymakers spend their cash. However, businesses in Tokyo largely shrugged off any anxiety. “Since there are fewer Chinese customers, it’s become a bit easier for Japanese shoppers to visit, so our sales haven’t really dropped,” Ito
The number of Taiwanese working in the US rose to a record high of 137,000 last year, driven largely by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s (TSMC, 台積電) rapid overseas expansion, according to government data released yesterday. A total of 666,000 Taiwanese nationals were employed abroad last year, an increase of 45,000 from 2023 and the highest level since the COVID-19 pandemic, data from the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) showed. Overseas employment had steadily increased between 2009 and 2019, peaking at 739,000, before plunging to 319,000 in 2021 amid US-China trade tensions, global supply chain shifts, reshoring by Taiwanese companies and
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) Chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家) and the company’s former chairman, Mark Liu (劉德音), both received the Robert N. Noyce Award -- the semiconductor industry’s highest honor -- in San Jose, California, on Thursday (local time). Speaking at the award event, Liu, who retired last year, expressed gratitude to his wife, his dissertation advisor at the University of California, Berkeley, his supervisors at AT&T Bell Laboratories -- where he worked on optical fiber communication systems before joining TSMC, TSMC partners, and industry colleagues. Liu said that working alongside TSMC
TECHNOLOGY DAY: The Taiwanese firm is also setting up a joint venture with Alphabet Inc on robots and plans to establish a firm in Japan to produce Model A EVs Manufacturing giant Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) yesterday announced a collaboration with ChatGPT developer OpenAI to build next-generation artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure and strengthen its local supply chain in the US to accelerate the deployment of advanced AI systems. Building such an infrastructure in the US is crucial for strengthening local supply chains and supporting the US in maintaining its leading position in the AI domain, Hon Hai said in a statement. Through the collaboration, OpenAI would share its insights into emerging hardware needs in the AI industry with Hon Hai to support the company’s design and development work, as well
RSS