Taiwan January 2019: Lexus up 83.7%, Toyota Yaris leads in market down 7.9%

The Lexus UX is up to #25 in Taiwan in January.

New car sales in Taiwan take a 7.9% hit in January to 44.143 registrations, just as brand leader Toyota (-12.8%) falls faster but scores a higher share than over FY2018 at 26% vs. 23.7%. Nissan (-12.9%), Honda (-11.1%) and Mitsubishi (-38.1%) also all underperform in the Top 4 and it’s Lexus up a spectacular 83.7%, Mercedes (+6.7%) and BMW (+1.3%) that enable the market to contain its loss. Model-wise, we witness a very rare occurrence: the Toyota Corolla (-47.7%) toppled from its perennial #1 spot by the Toyota Yaris (+71.3%). This is only the third time in the past 6 years that the Corolla isn’t #1 in Taiwan after September 2013 (Nissan Tiida) and May 2018 (Honda CR-V). The RAV4 (-26.4%) ensures the podium is 100% Toyota while the Honda CR-V (+9%) and CMC Veryca (+11.3%) close the Top 5. Among recent launches (<12 months), the Nissan Kicks is down 3 spots on December to a still outstanding 7th place, ahead of the Lexus UX up 12 to #25 and the Toyota Auris down 4 to #29. Notice also the Lexus ES (+191.3%), Mercedes GLC (+136.3%), Toyota C-HR (+66.4%), Lexus RX (+55.1%), Suzuki Swift (+42.8%), Toyota Camry (+29.1%) and Mercedes C-Class (+26.3%) making waves in the Top 50.

Previous post: Taiwan Full Year 2018: Toyota (-10%) weak, Honda (+14%), Lexus (+23%), VW (+18%) sturdy in declining market

One year ago: Taiwan January 2018: Honda CR-V up 62% in market up 5.5%

Full January 2019 Top 10 brands and Top 80 models below.