Car sales in Taiwan fell about 26 percent last month from the month before to about 35,000 units, missing market expectations as analysts cited caution amid uncertainty over tariff policy on US auto imports.
Analysts said sales could decline further this month due to the Lunar New Year holiday and the extended Feb. 28 holiday weekend, reducing the number of working days. Sales volume could fall to about 26,000 units.
The Ministry of Transportation and Communications records a sale as happening on the day a car is delivered and given a license plate, rather than when the sales contract is signed.
Photo: CNA
Data compiled by the auto industry showed car sales last month stood at 35,073 units, down 25.9 percent from a month earlier, but up very slightly from 35,064 units for the same period last year.
Last month’s figure was below earlier market expectations of about 43,000 units, as analysts said that although the US agreed to cut tariffs on Taiwanese goods from 20 percent to 15 percent last month, Taiwan’s import tariffs on US autos have not been decided, leading many potential car buyers to put their purchase plans on hold.
The tariff policy offset the benefits resulting from car vendors’ aggressive promotional campaigns and a cut in commodity taxes by the government, analysts said.
Last month, Hotai Motor Co (和泰汽車), the sales agent for Toyota and Lexus in Taiwan, remained the largest car vendor in Taiwan, with combined Toyota and Lexus sales of 14,787 units, accounting for a 42.2 percent share of the local auto market, down from 46.6 percent in January 2025.
Hotai Motor said sales of Toyota and Lexus vehicles this month are forecast to hit 8,000 units, or about a 30.8 percent share of the local auto market.
The data showed sales of imported cars in Taiwan plunged 41.3 percent last month from a month earlier to 14,561 units, and the January figure was 12.2 percent lower than a year earlier.
Sales of luxury cars last month dipped 44.7 percent from a month earlier and dropped 26.1 percent from a year earlier to 7,234 units, the data indicated.
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