Taiwan’s new vehicle market declined by 11% to 32,876 units in April 2025 from 37,038 units in the same month last year, according to registration data compiled by Taiwan’s Ministry of Transportation.
Overall vehicle demand in the country has weakened significantly in recent months, following two years of strong growth, despite a pick-up in economic activity in the country. GDP growth exceeded expectations in the first quarter of the year, coming in at 5.4% year-on-year after slowing to 2.8% in the fourth quarter of 2024, driven mainly by a rebound in exports while domestic consumption remained sluggish.
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In the first four months of the year the vehicle market also declined by 11% to 132,737 units from 149,437 units in the same period last year, with sales of domestically-produced vehicles dropping by 15% to 68,436 units while import sales declined by less than 6% to 64,301 units. Sales of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) amounted to 8,422 units in this period, led by Tesla and followed by local automaker Luxgen, BMW, Mercedes and Porsche.
The performances of the individual brands varied significantly in the first quarter, with market leader Toyota enjoying an 8% increase to 42,427 units; followed by its Lexus division with an 11% rise to 11,090 units; Mercedes-Benz 9,315 units (+4%); China Motor 8,752 (+24%); Honda 6,691 units (-28%); Hyundai 5,672 (-33%); BMW 5,702 (+5%); Mitsubishi 4,223 (-17%); and Ford 4,188 (-16%).
Last year Taiwan reintroduced minimum local content requirements for locally-assembled vehicles – regulations that had been discontinued more than two decades ago. Under the new rules locally-assembled vehicles are required to have a minimum local content of 15% in their first year of production, rising to 25% in the second year and 35% in the third year. The government claims the new regulation is mainly aimed at ensuring minimum safety standards while also protecting the country’s component sector. As Taiwan does not allow direct imports of built-up vehicles from China, the ruling is expected to slow the entry of Chinese brands into the market.
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