Taiwan’s new vehicle market continued to decline in September 2025, falling by almost 12% year-on-year at 32,227 units compared with 36,532 units a year earlier, according to registration data compiled by Taiwan’s Ministry of Transportation.

The vehicle market has weakened significantly in 2025, following two years of strong growth, despite robust economic activity in the country. Economic growth accelerated sharply in the second quarter of 2025, to 8% year-on-year from 5.5% in the first quarter, albeit driven mainly by surging exports. Domestic consumption weakened, with sentiment affected by uncertainty over US import tariffs.

In the first nine months of the year, the vehicle market declined by 14% to 296,137 units from 344,128 units in the same period last year, with sales of domestically-produced vehicles falling by 15% to 152,433 units, while import sales declined by 13% to 143,704 units. Sales of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) amounted to 22,102 units in this period, led by Tesla with 10,490 units, followed by BMW with 2,702 units, local automaker Luxgen with 2,551 units, and Mercedes-Benz with 1,469 units.

The performance of the individual brands varied significantly year-to-date, with market leader Toyota reporting a 2% decline to 90,010 units; followed by its Lexus luxury division with 22,230 units (unchnged); CMC 18,566 (+24%); Mercedes-Benz 17,033 (-18%); Honda 15,049 (-23%); Hyundai 13,454 (-22%); BMW 12,737 (-16%); and Mitsubishi 9,849 (-18%).

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 supply chain.