New Car Sales in Taiwan Up Significantly in October 2013

New car sales in Taiwan increased by 11.3% month-on-month (MoM) and 14.6.6% year-on-year (YoY) in October to about 32,000 units (from 28,941 in September), according to statistics compiled by the Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC). The sharp increase reverses drops in the first three quarters of the year and sets the industry up to close the year with a gain.

The October figures were helped by rollouts of new models by almost all of the major automakers on the island. The new breed included locally assembled Toyota Altis, Nissan Super Sentra, and Mitsubishi Colt Plus 3, as well as new imported S-class models from Mercedes-Benz, among other makes. New and heavyweight models are expected to fuel new-car sales in the final quarter.

In October, Hotai Motor Co. Ltd., a Taiwan agent for Toyota and Lexus models and the island's largest auto seller for a decade, introduced the locally made Toyota Altis sedan: a model that has long been the top seller in Taiwan. The company sold more than 3,500 units in the same month. The new model won more than 50% market share of its kind and pushed up total Toyota's sales in Taiwan by 27% MoM and boosted the overall market share of the Japanese automaker to 33.7%. China Motor Corp. (CMC), Taiwan's second largest auto seller and assembler of Mitsubishi cars, sold more than 800 Colt Plus 3s, taking back the No. 2 position yielded to affiliated Yulon Nissan Motor Co. in September. Yulon Nissan announced the new Super Sentra in late October and sold 332 units of the new model. The company expects to win more orders in the fourth quarter with the help of affordable pricing.

In the first 10 months, accumulated new-car sales turned the negative YoY growth into a positive 0.7% gain at 304,749 units. The Automotive Research & Testing Center (ARTC) forecasts that the new-car sales in Taiwan in 2013 will exceed last year's 365,000 units.

First Homegrown 3.49-Ton Diesel Truck Launched

Taiwan-based automaker China Motor Corp. (CMC), an affiliate of domestic Yulon Group, recently held a ceremony at its auto-assembly factory in Hsinchu, northern Taiwan, to celebrate the production launch for its first self-developed and CMC-own-branded 3.49-ton diesel truck model, the Leadca.

The automaker will sell the Leadca for less than NT$900,000 (US$30,000) in Taiwan, with an aim to break the monopoly of Japanese trucks in the domestic market segment. Industry insiders say that CMC is targeting the segment between higher-priced Japanese and lower-priced Korean- and Chinese-branded diesel trucks, trying to build its own brand on the back of its 30 years of experience in vehicle design, development and assembly.

CMC will celebrate its 40th anniversary in December. In addition to being the local assembler of Mitsubishi cars and commercial vehicles, the firm also develops and makes CMC-branded commercial vehicles for both domestic sale and export.

The company began developing the 3.49-ton diesel truck three years ago and globally purchases needed parts to pare production costs. CMC reportedly invested about NT$1 billion (US$33.3 million) into the development of the new Leadca truck. In a break with tradition, the automaker decided to let another distributor sell the truck model in Taiwan in order to expand market share. CMC now commands a 70% market share of the domestic market for 3.49-ton trucks through its sales of locally assembled Mitsubishi Fuso trucks. It is expected to increase its share to over 80% with the debut of the Leadca.

ARTC points out that that the price of CMC's new 3.49-ton truck is more competitive than Japanese trucks locally assembled in Taiwan, which are generally priced for more than NT$1.2 million, or US$40,000. The center notes that newly introduced fifth-stage emission standards in Taiwan (equal to the Euro 5 in the European Union) has added 15% to 25% of truck prices and led to a smaller market share.

CMC said that its price-competitive Leadca is expected to force other commercial-vehicle brands, such as Hino, Isuzu and Kia, to cut their prices or provide more incentives to local buyers, further stimulating demand.

Q1-Q3 Global New-car Sales Up 2.8% YoY

More than 7.15 million new cars were sold globally in September 2013, up 4.5% from the 6.54 million units sold a year earlier; while an accumulated 62.57 million units were sold in the first three quarters, a 2.8% YoY increase from 60.88 million units, according to LMC Automotive.

The market intelligence and consulting firm forecasts total global new-car sales in 2013 to reach 83.1 million units. China and the U.S. will maintain their top-two positions, followed by Japan, Brazil, Germany, Russia, India, the U.K., Canada and France.

ARTC points out that, in the first three quarters, some 15.88 million new cars were sold in China, up 12.7% YoY, accounting for 25.4% of global total. New-car shipments in the U.S. reached 11.77 million units in the first three quarters, up 8.0% YoY, representing a global share of 19.33%. The center says that the U.S. economy is on the way to recovery, but political uncertainties are expected to drag on market gains.

In October, the European Union (EU) (27) car market expanded by 4.7%, totaling a little more than one million units. It was the first time since September 2011 that demand for new cars rose for two consecutive months. From January to October, new car registrations amounted to 10.01 million units, or 3.1% less than in the same period last year, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA).

In the first 10 months, major markets performed unevenly, with new car sales falling in Germany (-5.2%), France (-7.4%) and Italy (-8.0%) and gaining in Spain (+1.1%) and the UK (+10.2%).

New-generation EVs

General Motors (GM), the largest American automaker, is reportedly working on its second-generation Volt, a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV). The new model is expected to be created on GM's Delta car platform and will be powered by a 1,000cc three-cylinder gasoline engine jointly developed by GM, Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp. (SAIC), and Pan Asia Technical Automotive Center Co., Ltd. (a joint venture between GM and SAIC) to cut vehicle weight and extend cruising range. GM aims to extend the range of the next-generation Volt with a pure-electric drive mode of 96 kilometers from 64 kilometers now, and cut the vehicle cost by US$7,000 to US$10,000.

ARTC points out that the second-generation Volt PHEV advances at least three features of the existing version, including an affordable price achieved by utilizing accumulated design experience and know-how, as well as improved technical capability; upgraded overall vehicle energy efficiency (the 1.0L gasoline engine as the generator, compared to the 1.4L predecessor); and 50% longer cruising range to extend the model's appeal to other consumer groups. The center says that the next-generation Volt is expected to attract strong demand and increase the EV penetration rate. ARTC also notes that the second-generation Volt will adopt engines and transmission gearboxes jointly developed with Chinese partners, suggesting that GM aims to develop EV sales in the world's largest automobile market.

Power Storage in Vehicle Body

In late October, Volvo Cars announced that it has developed a revolutionary concept for lightweight structural energy storage components that could improve the energy usage of future electrified vehicles. The material, consisting of carbon fibers, nano-structured batteries and super capacitors, cuts the weight, space and cost of energy storage and is eco-friendly.

The research project team identified a feasible solution to the heavy weight, large size and high costs associated with the batteries on hybrids and electric cars today, all without sacrificing power and performance. The three-and-a-half-year project culminated with the debut of the Volvo S80 experimental car.

The team's solution was an advanced nano-material made of carbon fibers and a polymer resin, along with structural super capacitors. The reinforced carbon fibers sandwich the new battery and are molded and formed to fit around the car's frame, such as the door panels, the boot lid and wheel bowl, substantially saving on space. The carbon fiber laminate is first layered, shaped and then cured in an oven to set and harden. The super capacitors are integrated within the component skin. This material can then be used around the vehicle, replacing existing components, to store and charge energy.

The material is recharged and energized by the use of brake energy regeneration in the car or by plugging into an electrical grid. The energy is transferred to the electric motor and then discharged around the car. The innovative solution has demonstrated that the material not only charges and stores faster than conventional batteries can, but is also strong and pliant.

ARTC said that the advanced R&D project, funded as part of a European Union (EU) research project, included Imperial College London as the academic lead partner along with eight other major participants. Volvo, the only car manufacturer in the project, has evaluated the technology in two components for testing and development: a trunk lid and a plenum cover, tested within the Volvo S80. The trunk lid is a functioning electrically powered storage component and has the potential to replace the standard batteries used in cars today. It is lighter than a standard trunk lid, saving on both volume and weight. The new plenum demonstrates that it can also replace both the rally bar (a strong structural piece that stabilizes the car in the front) and the start-stop battery. This enables a 50% weight reduction and can supply enough energy to power the car's 12 Volt system. (Dec. 2013)