Mercedes-Benz Targets to Sell 20,000 Units in Taiwan in 2015

Sales of Mercedes-Benz imports in Taiwan during January-September has surpassed that of the entire-year volume in 2013, and the local subsidiary of the German brand, Mercedes-Benz Taiwan, said it aims to sell some 18,000 units in 2014 and challenge a new record of 20,000 in 2015.

If Mercedes-Benz Taiwan achieves the target, the brand will be the first import nameplate to be in the top-five in the domestic automobile market.

An indicator of hot sales on the island: Mercedes' local agent has taken five firm orders before its launch of the brand-new super-luxury sport coupe AMG S63 (starting from NT$10.68 million or US$356,000), half of the annual quota of 10 for the island. Mercedes-Benz Taiwan is also scheduled to introduce the S500 Coupe, starting from NT$8.08 million (US$269,333) and reportedly also has won firm orders.

The subsidiary kicked off providing incentives (low monthly installments) for its CLA and GLA entry models in October, despite supply shortage of the models in Taiwan, to further widen its lead from other import brands as   BMW, Volkswagen and Lexus.

Statistics compiled by the Ministry of Transportation and Communications show sales of new Mercedes-Benz in Taiwan totaled about 14,000 units in the first nine months this year, a 22.8% increase from the same period of last year. Excluding about 2,000 units from other local importers, Mercedes-Benz Taiwan sold about 12,000 units, which already outstripped the local subsidiary's 2013 total.

In September, Mercedes-Benz Taiwan licensed 1,784 units, a second-highest monthly record in company history, and a new record high for the month. The subsidiary has hit record sales volumes for 22 consecutive months.

Industry source say all imported luxury-car brands enjoyed significant sales growth this year, and in the first three quarters, imported car market share in Taiwan has risen to 31%, a new high in 12 years. Smooth sales of imports are seriously undermining survival of local auto assemblers (most being in partnerships with international automakers). Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen and BMW already ranked as the fifth-, seventh- and eighth-largest auto brands in Taiwan's domestic market in September, a phenomenon rarely seen previously.

Some auto importers attribute Mercedes-Benz Taiwan's rapid sales gain on the island to the subsidiary's clever strategy of introducing more entry-level models, especially the A-, B-, CLA- and GLA-class, as well as the new C-class models, to have effectively triggered purchase willingness of new-car buyers with budget of under NT$2 million (US$66,666).

Sales of Mercedes-Benz in Taiwan (2010-Q3, 2014)
	2010	2011	2012	2013	Q1-Q3, 2014
Annual Volume	9,520	13,310	13,390	16,730	14,061
Market Share	2.9%	3.5%	3.7%	4.4%	4.5%
Source: MOTC