Taiwan’s new vehicle market plunged by 18% to 33,231 units in October 2024 from 40,540 units in the same month of last year, according to registration data compiled by Taiwan’s Ministry of Transportation.
The sharp decline was largely attributed to two major typhoons that hit the country last month, disrupting business and government activity for several days. GDP growth slowed to 4.0% year-on-year in the third quarter from 5.1% in the second quarter, with a slowdown in household spending contributing significantly to the decline.
In the first ten months of the year new vehicle registrations fell by 3% year-on-year to 377,347 units, after growing by 12% to 390,260 units in the same period of 2023. Sales of imported vehicles fell by 2% to 181,391 units, accounting for 48% of the overall market, while sales of domestically-produced vehicles fell by almost 5% to 195,956 units. Sales of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) amounted to 28,560 sales year-to-date, with Tesla, Luxgen and BMW dominating this segment.
Toyota continued to lead the overall vehicle market, with sales declining slightly to 102,389 units in the first ten months of the year, followed by its Lexus division with a 7% decline to 24,356 units. Mercedes-Benz saw its sales rise by 12% to 22,677 units; Honda 21,287 units (-10%); Hyundai 18,728 (-2%); BMW 16,537 (+9%); China Motor 16,420 (+2); Nissan 15,783 (-15%); MG Taiwan 14,682 (+43%) and Tesla 12,212 (+16%).
Earlier this year the Taiwanese government re-introduced 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 sector. As Taiwan does not allow direct imports of built-up vehicles from China, the ruling is expected to slow the entry of Chinese brands into the market.
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