Taiwan’s new vehicle market expanded 3.5% to 37,083 units in September 2023 from 35,822 units a year earlier, according to the directorate of highways.
The vehicle market continued to be underpinned by aggressive promotional campaigns by dealers and by significant new model launches in the last year with import brands such as Lexus, Hyundai and Volkswagen helping to drive up volume.
The economy grew 1.4% year on year in the second quarter after two quarters of annualised contraction due mainly to weaker export revenue with a strong rebound in private consumption leading the recovery.
In the first nine months of the year, total vehicle sales rose 12% to 349,720 units from 311,581 a year earlier, with sales of locally produced vehicles rising 3% to 182,412 units while import sales surged 24% to 167,308 units.
Toyota sales were slightly lower at 91,612 units year to date while Lexus sales surged 67% to 24,094 units driven by strong demand for the NX and RX.
Honda was the third best selling brand with sales rising to 20,517 units followed by Mercedes-Benz with 18,201 units (+7%); Ford 17,405 (-4%); Hyundai 16,982 (+53%); BMW 14,000 (+5%); Volkswagen 12,349 (+44%); and Mazda 10,373 (-1%).
Tesla led the electric vehicle (EV) segment with 9,798 sales YTD while BMW continuedto gain ground with the iX and i4.
