New car sales in Taiwan last year rose 11 percent to the highest level in 18 years, government data released yesterday showed.
The number of applications for vehicle license plates, an indicator of new car sales, grew to 476,987 units last year, from 429,731 units in 2022, the highest level since 2005, when 514,626 units were sold, data compiled by the Ministry of Transportation and Communications showed.
The full-year results came as vehicle sales last month rose 3.1 percent year-on-year to 43,161 units, boosted by promotion campaigns by automakers and dealers coupled with new arrivals of imported models, the data showed.
Photo: Amy Yang, Taipei Times
Market leader Hotai Motor Co (和泰汽車), which distributes Toyota and Lexus vehicles in Taiwan, attributed the strong results last year to delayed orders from 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the easing of a chip shortage.
With most of the delayed orders fulfilled, the market is expected to return to normal this year, Hotai said in a statement.
Despite uncertainties related to the nation’s presidential election and tension across the Taiwan Strait, vehicle sales this month are forecast to reach 47,000 units, up 35 percent year-on-year with promotions ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday, it said.
The Lunar New Year, traditionally the most important holiday in the year, falls on Feb. 10 this year.
Hotai reported sales of 14,654 units last month and 159,175 units for the year, which was an 11.5 percent increase from the previous year and the highest in the company’s history.
It has been the No. 1 vendor in Taiwan for 22 consecutive years with a market share of 33.4 percent, Hotai said.
Among the top 10 brands, six reported sales growth last year, with Lexus posting the largest increase, at 55.6 percent to 30,065 units in annual sales, followed by Hyundai at 44 percent to 22,175 units, the data showed.
Toyota led the market, selling 129,110 units, up 4.6 percent from a year earlier, followed by Honda, with an 11.1 percent increase in sales to 30,420 units. Mercedes-Benz’s sales rose 4.5 percent to 24,439 units, while BMW’s sales rose 6 percent to 17,725 units.
In contrast, Nissan, Ford, China Motor Corp (中華汽車) and Mitsubishi reported declines of 5.8 percent to 12.9 percent in sales, compared with a year earlier, the data showed.
Taiwan’s technology protection rules prohibits Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) from producing 2-nanometer chips abroad, so the company must keep its most cutting-edge technology at home, Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) said yesterday. Kuo made the remarks in response to concerns that TSMC might be forced to produce advanced 2-nanometer chips at its fabs in Arizona ahead of schedule after former US president Donald Trump was re-elected as the next US president on Tuesday. “Since Taiwan has related regulations to protect its own technologies, TSMC cannot produce 2-nanometer chips overseas currently,” Kuo said at a meeting of the legislature’s
Semiconductor shares in China surged yesterday after Reuters reported the US had ordered chipmaking giant Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) to halt shipments of advanced chips to Chinese customers, which investors believe could accelerate Beijing’s self-reliance efforts. TSMC yesterday started to suspend shipments of certain sophisticated chips to some Chinese clients after receiving a letter from the US Department of Commerce imposing export restrictions on those products, Reuters reported on Sunday, citing an unnamed source. The US imposed export restrictions on TSMC’s 7-nanometer or more advanced designs, Reuters reported. Investors figured that would encourage authorities to support China’s industry and bought shares
TECH WAR CONTINUES: The suspension of TSMC AI chips and GPUs would be a heavy blow to China’s chip designers and would affect its competitive edge Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s biggest contract chipmaker, is reportedly to halt supply of artificial intelligence (AI) chips and graphics processing units (GPUs) made on 7-nanometer or more advanced process technologies from next week in order to comply with US Department of Commerce rules. TSMC has sent e-mails to its Chinese AI customers, informing them about the suspension starting on Monday, Chinese online news outlet Ijiwei.com (愛集微) reported yesterday. The US Department of Commerce has not formally unveiled further semiconductor measures against China yet. “TSMC does not comment on market rumors. TSMC is a law-abiding company and we are
FLEXIBLE: Taiwan can develop its own ground station equipment, and has highly competitive manufacturers and suppliers with diversified production, the MOEA said The Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) yesterday disputed reports that suppliers to US-based Space Exploration Technologies Corp (SpaceX) had been asked to move production out of Taiwan. Reuters had reported on Tuesday last week that Elon Musk-owned SpaceX had asked their manufacturers to produce outside of Taiwan given geopolitical risks and that at least one Taiwanese supplier had been pushed to relocate production to Vietnam. SpaceX’s requests place a renewed focus on the contentious relationship Musk has had with Taiwan, especially after he said last year that Taiwan is an “integral part” of China, sparking sharp criticism from Taiwanese authorities. The ministry said
RSS