Lexus Replaces BMW as No.2 Imported Luxury Brand in Taiwan in July

Hotai Motor Co. Ltd., agent of Toyota and Lexus in Taiwan, and the No. 1 auto vendor on the island for over 12 years, recently announced that sales of imported Lexus  surpassed that of BMWs in July, making the Japanese brand No. 2 in the luxury segment in Taiwan.

Hotai says that it will launch the brand-new Lexus NX compact crossover in Taiwan this August, to target 20%-plus volume growth this year to 12,000 units.

Driven by strong sales of its Toyota Vios sub-compact and Altis sedans, Hotai reported record high earnings in Q1, with its Q2 earnings expected to continue rising to another high in company record.

As of July, Hotai sold about 75,000 Toyotas (locally-assembled and imported) and Lexus (imported) in Taiwan, a near-10% growth from a year earlier, or year-on-year (YoY). Sales of Lexus grew even more than that of Toyota in H1, with sales of the Lexus IS series seeing eye-catching sales growth in July. Industry sources say that increasing sales of higher-priced and popularly-priced Lexus are expected to further enhance Hotai's revenue and net earnings this year.

Hotai's Performances (2010-Q1, 2014)
	2010	2011	2012	2013	Q1, 2014
Revenue	NT$110.9 billion	NT$127.2 billion	NT$135.2 billion	NT$146.5 billion	NT$37.78 billion
Net Earnings	NT$4.85 billion	NT$6.59 billion	NT$7.54 billion	NT$7.65 billion	NT$2.24 billion
earnings per share (EPS)	NT$8.88	NT$12.1	NT$13.8	NT$14.0	NT$4.11
Source: Market Observation Post System (MOPS), Taiwan Stock Exchange.

Hotai said that in conjunction with its vigorous efforts to win old customers who turned to mainly imported German luxurious-car brands, as well as restore the prices of used-Lexus cars to the reasonable level, sales of imported Lexus cars recovered to a more-than-10,000-unit level in 2013. In the first half of 2014, 7,170 Lexus cars were sold, representing a 28.2% YoY increase.

The auto vendor is optimistic about its sales in the rest months of this year, saying that the sales of some light sport utility vehicle (SUV) models have outstripped same-class BMW counterparts in July, and the new NX models scheduled to be imported in August are expected to further shorten the distance between Lexus and the top-two leading nameplates Mercedes-Benz and BMW.

Hotai has announced some ambitious goals for this year's sales in Taiwan, including a targeted 34% market share in the medium-to-small car segment (by vending 120,600 Toyotas and 12,000 Lexus makes), 33% market share in large-car segment (5,650 units), and annual exports of more than 80,000 locally assembled Toyota cars. Industry sources said that Hotai is expected smoothly achieve the goals this year.