The production value of Taiwan’s motorcycles and motorcycle spare parts in the first quarter of this year continued to grow, after hitting record highs in 2019 and last year, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday.
In the first quarter, output value reached NT$35.6 billion (US$1.29 billion), up 16 percent annually, due mainly to robust exports of gasoline-powered motorcycles and electric scooters, the ministry said in a report.
The motorcycle and spare parts industry’s output value reached record highs of NT$122 billion and NT$132.4 billion in 2019 and last year respectively, ministry data showed.
Photo: CNA
From 2012 to last year, production value grew by an average annual rate of 5.2 percent.
The main products in the industry were gasoline-powered motorcycles and scooters, followed by spare parts, e-bicycles and e-scooters, the report said, adding that production of emission-free e-scooters rose rapidly due to growing environmental consciousness and the rise of athleisure trends.
In the first quarter, the production value of gasoline-powered motorcycles and scooters rose 27.8 percent year-on-year, while that of e-scooters grew 29.8 percent, the largest growth among all product categories, the report showed.
However, sales of e-scooters plunged 60.8 percent year-on-year in the first quarter due to falling international oil prices and reduced government subsidies for purchases of e-scooters, it said.
Japan was the No. 1 destination for Taiwan’s motorcycle and spare parts exports before 2013, whereas from 2014 to 2018, the exports mainly went to the US, data compiled by the Ministry of Finance showed.
In the past few years, Taiwan’s motorcycle and spare parts have mainly gone to the Netherlands, the data showed.
Exports of motorcycle and spare parts to the Netherlands last year reached US$480 million, up 29.8 percent from a year earlier, while its exports to the US were about US$400 million, up 20.7 percent year-on-year, the data showed.
HANDOVER POLICY: Approving the probe means that the new US administration of Donald Trump is likely to have the option to impose trade restrictions on China US President Joe Biden’s administration is set to initiate a trade investigation into Chinese semiconductors in the coming days as part of a push to reduce reliance on a technology that US officials believe poses national security risks. The probe could result in tariffs or other measures to restrict imports on older-model semiconductors and the products containing them, including medical devices, vehicles, smartphones and weaponry, people familiar with the matter said. The investigation examining so-called foundational chips could take months to conclude, meaning that any reaction to the findings would be left to the discretion of US president-elect Donald Trump’s incoming team. Biden
INVESTMENT: Jun Seki, chief strategy officer for Hon Hai’s EV arm, and his team are currently in talks in France with Renault, Nissan’s 36 percent shareholder Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), the iPhone maker known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團) internationally, is in talks with Nissan Motor Co’s biggest shareholder Renault SA about its willingness to sell its shares in the Japanese automaker, the Central News Agency (CNA) said, citing people it did not identify. Nissan and fellow Japanese automaker, Honda Motor Co, are exploring a merger that would create a rival to Toyota Motor Corp in Japan and better position the combined company to face competitive challenges around the world, people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday. However, one potential spanner in the works is
HON HAI LURKS: The ‘Nikkei’ reported that Foxconn’s interest in Nissan accelerated the Honda-merger effort out of fears it might be taken over by the Taiwanese firm Nissan Motor Co has become the latest buyout target in Japan as it explores a merger with Honda Motor Co and faces an overture from Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團) internationally. Shares in Nissan yesterday jumped 24 percent, the most on record, to hit the daily limit, after the two Japanese automakers acknowledged that talks are ongoing to better position themselves for competitive challenges during a time of upheaval in the global auto industry. Foxconn — a Taipei-based manufacturer of iPhones, which has been investing heavily in factories to build electric vehicles — has also
CHIP SUBSIDY: The US funding would help alleviate the financial pressure from building two fabs in the US and should lift gross margins in 2026, the company said GlobalWafers Co (環球晶圓), the world’s third-largest silicon wafer supplier, yesterday said it is to receive US$406 million in subsidies from the US Department of Commerce for two new US fabs under the CHIPS and Science Act, with the first batch of the funds likely coming next year. The grant represents 10 percent of the planned investments of US$4 billion in advanced semiconductor wafer manufacturing facilities in Texas and Missouri, GlobalWafers said. The commerce department is to disburse the funds based on the completion of project milestones over a multiyear timeframe, the company said. Along with the tax credit, which is equal to
RSS