The new vehicle market in Taiwan expanded by 8.2% to 41,386 units in June 2020 from 38,239 units a year earlier, according to local reports citing registration data compiled by the directorate of highways.
After growing over 8% to 104,046 units in the first quarter of the year, the market declined by 4.5% to 105,736 units in the second quarter as consumers retrenched in April and May due to rising uncertainty over the global COVID-19 pandemic.
Taiwan was one of the countries least affected by the global COVID-19 pandemic in the region and this was reflected in the sharp sales rebound in June, as economic activity quickly returned to something resembling normality.
Vehicle sales in the first half of 2020 were up by 1.4% at 209,782 units from 206,922 units in the same period of last year, with imports rising by 9.6% to 104,998 units while sales of locally produced vehicles fell by 5.7% to 104,784 units.
Toyota reported a 7.3% sales rise to 59,886 units year to date, thanks to strong demand for the Corolla and RAV4, while Yulon Nissan's sales fell by 9.6% to 15,110 units; Mercedes-Benz 13,861 units (-5.0%); Honda 13,313 (-17.2%); Lexus 11.567 (+16.9%); and Mitsubishi 11,541 (-4.2%).
