Hotai Aims to Sell 13,000 Imported Lexus Cars in Taiwan This Year

With its imported Lexus luxury cars proving to be highly popular in Taiwan, Hotai Motor Co.,Ltd., agent of Toyota and Lexus models and the long-term No. 1 auto vendor in Taiwan, recently hiked its Lexus sales target for 2014 from Lexus from 11,000 to 13,000 units.

The German brands Mercedes-Benz and BMW have long been the top-two marques in Taiwan's imported luxury-car market, thanks to the long-standing perception in the minds of the local people that they reflect high economic status. But sales of Lexus, the No. 3 nameplate in the imported luxury segment, outstripped BMW in July, Hotai officials said, showing an upward trend for the Japanese brand.

The recent launch of the new Lexus NX300h hybrid medium-size sport utility vehicle (SUV) will help Hotai achieve its new sales target.

Thanks to strong sales of the new locally assembled Toyota Altis company sedan, Vios sub-compact, and Yaris compact hatchback, Hotai's Toyota models now command a 33% share of the domestic automobile market, the highest of all car brands. Hotai hopes that Lexus will help it consolidate its lead and boost its profit margin.

Wu Chia-yen, sales chief of Hotai's Lexus brand operation, said his company expects that the recently introduced Lexus NX300h hybrid medium-size sport utility vehicle will help Hotai achieve its new sales target. The company has a quota of 1,200 NX 300h SUVs, and is confident of selling them all by year-end.

Hotai pointed out that the NX 300h targets consumers aged 35 and under. Hotai took 350 orders for the new model, whose entry-level vehicle is priced at NT$1.93 million (US$64,333) in Taiwan, before it was launched in early August.