Taiwan’s new car market ended the past year on a positive note, with sales up 4% to 41,854 units in December 2022, up from 40,307 units in the same month last year, according to the Directorate of Highways.
For the full year, vehicle sales fell 4.5% to 429,731 units from 449,859 units in 2021, with deliveries being impacted by ongoing bottlenecks in the supply chain, particularly earlier in the year.
Taiwan’s economy grew strongly by an estimated 3.5% last year, driven by strong consumer spending and a recovery in some key manufacturing sectors. The central bank raised interest rates to 1.75% in December to counteract inflation.
Sales of locally produced vehicles fell 3% last year to 240,590 units, while sales of imports fell 6% to 189,141 units, despite a 35% increase in December following the launch of the Tesla Model Y.
Due to import restrictions from China, Teslas are imported from Germany. Sales of the Model Y reached 3,598 units in December, making it the best-selling model ahead of the Toyota Corolla Cross. Tesla itself was the second best selling brand last month with 4,073 sales behind Toyota with 9,414 units.
The whole year long Toyota Sales fell 2% to 123,434, helped by strong demand for its locally assembled Corolla Cross hybrid. Honda Sales fell by more than 4% to 27,373 units ford sales fell 19% to 24,675 units; Nissan 24,137 units (-14%); Mercedes Benz 23,383 units (-16%); and China engine 21,819 units (-8%).
