Taiwan Full Year 2017: Toyota and Corolla lead, Honda up 25%

Honda sales are up 25% in Taiwan in 2017, mainly thanks to the HR-V. Picture u-car.com.tw

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The Taiwanese new car market edges up 1.1% year-on-year in 2017 to 444.669 registrations, and while Toyota remains by far the preferred car brand in the country, it drops by a harsh 8% to 25.7% share. In fact, Toyota and Lexus sales are combined in most Taiwanese sales reports, and doing so the Toyota Motor market share, at 28.8%, falls below the symbolic 30% milestone for the first time since 2006 (29.3%) and hits its lowest level since 2004 (27.6%). Note Toyota Motor has been Taiwan’s best-selling car makers uninterrupted since 2002 when it reached 25.2% market share (see detail on graph below). The Top 6 brands remain unchanged on 2016 but display varying fortunes: Mitsubishi/CMC beats the market with a 4% gain to 10.9% share but Nissan-Infiniti (-5%) and Mazda (-6%) lose ground. Honda shines with a 25% surge to 7.7% share while Mercedes is also very solid at +12%. In the remainder of the Top 10, note Ford up an estimated 13% but local fare Luxgen down 7% at #9 despite the arrival of the U5 crossover breaking into the monthly Top 10 in October.

The Mitsubishi Grand Lancer, specific to Taiwan, is one of three new launches in the 2017 Top 50.

Toyota-Lexus Taiwanese sales volume and market share (2002-2017). Source u-car.com.tw

Over in the models ranking, the Toyota Corolla is once again the uncontested leader, snapping the annual Taiwanese pole position for at least the 13th consecutive year, but drops 8% and almost one percentage point of market share to 9%. The Toyota RAV4 is up 4% to hit 5% of the market while the Toyota Sienta celebrates its first full year in market with a stunning third place at 3.3%. The CMC Veryca is stable at #4 (-1%) ahead of the Honda HR-V, also hitting the jackpot for its first full year at 3% share. The Toyota Yaris (-18%) and Mazda3 (-11%) are the biggest losers in the Top 10 while the Nissan Tiida (+3%), Livina (+5%) and Honda CR-V (+8%) all outpace the market, albeit slightly. Notice also the CMC Zinger up 30%, the Ford Kuga up 26%, the Mercedes GLC up 105% and the Lexus NX up 34%. There are three all-new nameplates inside the 2017 Top 50: the Luxgen U5 (#37), Toyota C-HR (#42) and Mitsubishi Grand Lancer (#46).

Previous post: Taiwan November 2017: Lexus NX shines, Ford Escort lands

Previous year: Taiwan Full Year 2016: Toyota Corolla, Yaris & RAV4 reign, CMC Veryca up

Two years ago: Taiwan Full Year 2015: Toyota monopolises Top 4, Mazda3 shoots up

Full Year 2017 Top 10 brands and Top 50 models vs. Full Year 2016 figures below.

Full December 2017 Top 12 brands and Top 80 models below.