New car sales in Taiwan last month reached 39,318 units, a 78.4 percent increase from the previous month, as the number of working days returned to normal from a mere 14 days in February, market researcher U-Car said in a report yesterday.
A renewal of government tax incentives, such as the NT$100,000 commodity tax deduction for buying a new car and retiring an old one, also helped boost sales, the researcher said.
On an annual basis, sales rose 5.5 percent from 37,281 units, it said.
Photo: Peter Lo, Taipei Times
In the first quarter of this year, car sales slid 3.4 percent year-on-year to 96,434 units, setting a positive tone for the market going forward, the researcher said.
“For the domestic car market, the first quarter sales figure means a stable beginning of the year,” U-Car said.
Hotai Motor Co (和泰汽車) — a distributor of Toyota, Lexus and Hino cars in Taiwan — said the growth momentum is expected to carry into this month, with a sales forecast of 32,800 units, up 3.4 percent year-on-year.
However, U-Car said challenges remain, as factors including uncertainty over tariff policy on imported cars, geopolitical conflicts and macroeconomic developments could affect market sentiment and hamper future sales.
Taiwan is to scrap a 17.5 percent import tax on US sedans and slash levies on commercial cars to 10 percent from 21.7 percent, after the US car tax policy was finalized in February after the Taiwan-US Agreement on Reciprocal Trade was signed.
The Taiwan Transportation Vehicle Manufacturers Association (台灣車輛公會) urged the government to fully scrap the 25 percent tariff on major automotive components — such as engines, cylinders and airbags — to help reduce manufacturing costs and bolster their competitiveness against imported cars.
The Ministry of Finance and related government agencies have not come to a final decision yet, as it considers the impact on the nation’s tax income, while several legislators called on the government to extend the exemption of car levies to all WTO members.
Sales of imported vehicles surged 96.9 percent last month to 20,487 units from 10,405 units in February, growing 15.6 percent from 17,725 units a year earlier, U-Car data showed.
Imported vehicles’ market share rose from 47.2 percent in the previous month to 52.1 percent last month, it added.
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