Taiwan’s Hotai Grabs Record Market Share in Dismal July

TAIPEI – Hotai Motor Co. Ltd., which sells locally assembled and imported Toyota and Lexus vehicles, captured an unprecedented 44% share of Taiwan’s new-car sales in July.

The performance came in a month that saw industry sales plunge 29.2% year-on-year to a 22-year low of only 23,349 units.

Taiwan’s auto makers are bracing for worse to come, as June and July traditionally are months with the strongest sales. Most plan to extend summer downtime up to a month to control bulging inventories.