Taiwan’s new vehicle market expanded by 3% to 35,421 units in August 2023 from 34,416 units a year earlier, according to registration data compiled by the directorate of highways.

The market continued to benefit from aggressive promotional campaigns by dealers and a significant increase in new model launches in the last year, with strong demand for import brands such as Lexus and Hyundai helping to drive up volume.

The economy grew strongly in the second quarter of 2023, by 1.7% compared with the first quarter, driven by a strong rebound in private consumption which offset continued weakness in exports.

In the first eight months of the year, total vehicle sales rose 13% to 312,637 units from 275,795 a year earlier, with sales of locally produced vehicles rising 3% to 162,639 units while sales of imported vehicles surged 27% to 149,998 units.

Toyota sales increased 2% to 82,720 units year to date (YTD) while Lexus sales surged 71% to 22,281 units driven by strong demand for NX and RX models. Honda was the third best selling brand in this period despite a 2% decline to 18,062 units; followed by Mercedes-Benz with 16,358 units (+11%); Ford 16,023 (-3%); Hyundai 15,024 (+61%); BMW 12,625 (+6%); and Volkswagen 11,190 (+50%). Tesla led the electric vehicle segment with 8,557 sales year-to-date, with BMW continuing to gain ground with its iX and i4 models.