TAIPEI: New car sales rose 6.9 percent to 38,284 units last month from October, due to new model launches and the industry’s traditional high season.
Last month’s figures increased 9.8 percent from a year earlier, data compiled by local motor vehicle branches showed. From January through last month, total new car sales reached 397,744 units in Taiwan, up 5 percent from the same period last year, the data showed.Hotai Motor Co, which maintained its position as the nation’s top seller last month, posted sales of 12,067 units, up 3.7 percent from the previous month.
Toyota and Lexus dealers held a 31.5 percent market share last month, supported by Toyota’s new Sienta. The car is similar to the Wish multi-utility vehicle, which was phased out in June. Hotai has sold 398 Sientas since its debut on Thursday last week, local media reported.
Yulon Nissan Motor Co, which distributes Nissan and Infiniti vehicles, saw sales rise 6.3 percent monthly to 3,790 vehicles. Yulon was the second-largest dealer last month with a market share of 9.9 percent. China Motor Corz, which sells Mitsubishi sedans and its own CMC commercial models, saw sales fall 1.3 percent to 3,519 units last month, with a market share of 9.2 percent.
Mercedes-Benz Taiwan, the largest luxury car distributor in the nation, reported sales of 2,036 vehicles last month, down 1.9 percent from the previous month.
Car dealers generally gave positive sales outlooks for this month, saying that sales are likely to increase before the Lunar New Year holiday. The fourth quarter is usually seen as a high season for car dealers, as consumers tend to purchase cars ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday, which is from Jan. 27 to Feb. 1, next year.
Hotai expects its car sales to reach 13,000 units this month, indicating nearly 7 percent growth from the previous month, a company official said by telephone yesterday. As for the company’s annual target, Hotai said it expects to sell 135,000 units this year, compared with last year’s 132,400 units.
Yulon said it forecast Luxgen sales will reach 16,000 vehicles in Taiwan this year from last year’s 15,176 units.
