While much of the world’s consumers were holding on to their money, Taiwan’s car buyers were still signing papers. New car sales in March 2020 rose more than 15 percent from a year earlier, Focus Taiwan reported on 4 April, citing government statistics. Matt Gasnier of the Best Selling Cars Blog, tracking the same month, put the gain slightly lower, at 14.5%, with the year-to-date tally up 8.2%.
Gasnier tied the result to how the island handled the virus. Taiwan reacted quickly and decisively when the outbreak was announced in China in January, he wrote, and by 31 March it had counted 322 cases and 5 deaths. The car market had so far escaped the damage seen elsewhere.
There is a catch in the comparison. March 2019 had itself been a weak month, with the market down 17.5%, so part of the rebound reflects a soft base.
Who gained and who lost
Japanese brands did the heavy lifting. Toyota rose 48.3% and Mitsubishi/CMC rose 50.1%, and the two led the brand rankings for the month and the year to date, as they had over 2019. Mercedes added 6.8% and climbed onto the podium. Mazda gained 32.3% and Lexus 22.7%. Honda fell 15.8% and Nissan 18.3%.
The model table has a few oddities. The Toyota RAV4 slipped 6.9% and still finished first for a third straight month, its seventh win in eight months. The Sienta, up 99.7%, kept the podium entirely Toyota. The Corolla Altis, another Toyota, surged 181.3% and sits second to the RAV4 for the year so far. The CMC Veryca, up 2.6%, ranked just below the Sienta.
Tesla’s jump
The biggest percentage swing belonged to Tesla. Its sales rose 664%, enough to put it among Taiwan’s top 10 brands for the first time, at number nine. The Model 3 climbed 61 places from February to fifth among all models, after ending December in tenth.
Sources
- Car market undeterred by COVID-19; sales up over 15% in March (Focus Taiwan / CNA)
- Taiwan March 2020: Tesla Model 3 breaks into Top 5 in market safe from coronavirus (+14.5%) (Matt Gasnier, Best Selling Cars Blog)
