New vehicle sales in Taiwan last month plunged about 13 percent year-on-year to 35,822 units as a shortage of chips and key components continued to weigh on the local automobile market.
However, the figure represented a monthly increase of 4.1 percent as vendors drummed up marketing activities after Ghost Month ended, industry data released on Monday showed.
In Taiwan, Ghost Month — the seventh month of the lunar calendar, which this year started on July 29 and ran through Aug. 26 — is considered an inauspicious time to purchase durable goods such as vehicles or homes.
Photo: Amy Yang, Taipei Times
In the first three quarters of this year, new vehicle sales dropped 6.8 percent annually to 311,581 units as a chip crunch crimped sales and supply constraints of key components upended launches of new vehicles, market researcher U-Car.com said in a statement.
Although automakers rolled out revamped models last quarter in a bid to stimulate sales, it remains to be seen whether sales in the remainder of this year would match last year’s performance, U-Car said.
On the bright side, UK-based MG Motor has made a comeback in Taiwan by introducing its new HS series of sports utility vehicles (SUVs) last quarter, U-Car said.
Hotai Motor Co (和泰汽車), which distributes Lexus and Toyota models in Taiwan, said that its new vehicle sales would likely reach 38,000 units this month, an annual growth of 8 percent.
However, full-year sales would slide 0.9 percent to 430,000 units from last year, Hotai said.
Hotai sold 12,086 vehicles last month, down 8.2 percent annually, but up 17.9 percent monthly on the back of strong sales of Corolla Cross SUVs.
The company remained the largest vendor in the local market last month, U-Car data showed.
Mercedes-Benz Taiwan Ltd (台灣賓士) was No. 2, selling 2,212 units, down 18.4 percent from a year earlier, while Honda Taiwan Co (台灣本田) was third, selling 2,004 vehicles, down 22.2 percent annually, the data showed.
China Motor Corp (中華汽車), which markets vehicles under the Mitsubishi brand, was No. 4 with 1,989 units sold, down 7.8 percent year-on-year; and Nan Yang Industries Co (南陽實業), which distributes Hyundai Motor Co vehicles, registered a 44.9 percent annual increase in sales to 1,719 units to place fifth, the data showed.
An ease in supply constraints of key components was the main factor behind Nan Yang’s performance, as it digested order backlog for its Tucson series, U-car said.
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