Taiwan’s new vehicle market declined slightly year-on-year to 29,222 units in August 2026, from 29,458 units in the same month last year, according to registration data compiled by Taiwan’s Ministry of Transportation.

Following a strong performance in the previous two months, the market struggled to make further progress, despite strong economic growth in the country in recent months. The latest government data show that the country’s economy expanded by almost 13% year-on-year in the second quarter of 2026, and by 13.7% in the first half of the year, reflecting strong global demand for IT products such as semiconductors. Household spending growth accelerated to 5.9% year-on-year in the second quarter, up from 4.7% in the previous quarter, while gross capital formation accelerated to 15.4% from 5.9%.

Vehicle sales in the first eight months of 2026 increased by 3% year-on-year to 270,156 units, after declining by 14% to 263,903 units in the same period last year. Sales of imported vehicles rose by over 4% to 133,172 units, while domestic sales increased slightly to 136,984 units. Sales of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) surged by 45% to 24,898 units in this period, from 14,175 units a year earlier, led by Tesla with 13,334 units (+67%); followed by Foxtron with 2,684 units (+11%), Toyota with 2532 units (+10%), and BMW with 1,685 units (+6.8%).

Toyota continued to lead the overall market with sales rising by 2.4% to 83,957 units year-to-date; while its Lexus division saw its sales fall by 4.2% to 19,571 units. Honda sales increased by 20% to 15,517 units in this period; followed by China Motor with 14,097 (-17%); Tesla 13,334 units (+67%); Mercedes-Benz 12,845 units (-18%); Mitsubishi 11,903 (+27%); Hyundai 10,613 (-11%); and Ford 10,349 (+30%).

GlobalData is forecasting a 6% rebound in light vehicle sales to 419,000 units, following a 9% decline to 395,000 units in 2025.