New car sales in Taiwan last year fell 4 percent to the third-highest level on record as auto market consumption returned to normal following a sales boom in 2023, online market researcher U-Car.com said in a report yesterday, citing the latest government data.
The number of applications for vehicle license plates, an indicator of new car sales, slowed to 457,830 units last year, from 476,987 units a year earlier, the second-highest level since 2005, when 514,626 units were requested, the data compiled by the Ministry of Transportation and Communications showed.
The full-year results came as new car sales last month fell 4.3 percent year-on-year to 41,302 units. However, the figure rose 5.4 percent month-on-month, boosted by year-end promotion campaigns by automakers and dealers coupled with new arrivals of imported models, the data showed.
Photo: Amy Yang, Taipei Times
Sales of imported cars last year reached 220,503 units, an annual decrease of 1.8 percent, and a market share of 48.2 percent. The number of luxury imported cars increased 2.9 percent to 115,445 units, a market share of 25.2 percent, the data found.
Market leader Hotai Motor Co (和泰汽車), which distributes Toyota and Lexus vehicles in Taiwan, sold 12,637 units last month, bringing the company’s total sales for last year to 153,526 units, down 3.6 percent from the year before.
That still allowed Hotai to remain the No. 1 vendor in Taiwan for 23 consecutive years with a market share of 33.5 percent, the largest in 11 years, the company said.
In contrast, Yulon Nissan Motor Co (裕隆日產), which distributes Nissan and Infiniti vehicles, Honda Taiwan Co (台灣本田) and China Motor Corp (中華汽車), which makes its namesake brand as well as Mitsubishi and MG-branded vehicles, reported annual declines of 16.7 percent, 11.9 percent and 0.2 percent in sales to 19,842, 26,791 and 51,224 units in the year respectively, the data showed.
However, annual sales at Sanyang Industrial Co (三陽工業), which distributes Hyundai vehicles, rose 2.3 percent to 22,691 units, and Mazda Motor Taiwan’s (台灣馬自達) new car sales increased 7.1 percent to 14,776 units last year, the data showed.
Some popular imported brands, including Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Tesla, also fared better than expected with sales last year rising 7.6 percent, 14.7 percent and 16.1 percent year-on-year to 26,296, 20,332 and 15,276 units, respectively. However, Volvo sales declined 2.4 percent to 9,908 units and Audi delivered 3,945 cars, down 20.1 percent, the data showed.
For this month, total vehicle sales in Taiwan are forecast to reach 42,000 units, down 6.3 percent year-on-year due to fewer working days, despite promotions by automakers and dealers ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday, Hotai said.
Lunar New Year — the most important traditional holiday in Taiwan and also known as the Spring Festival — falls on Jan. 29 this year.
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