Taiwan's new oil-consumption rules block entry of foreign super-luxury limousines, sport cars

Taipei, Jan.4, 2005 (CENS)--The super-luxury limousines and over-3,600cc sport cars are expected to be banned from entering Taiwan in the future due to the new oil-consumption regulations to be effective from July 2005.

Some automobile importers said that the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) would start enforcing a new rule requiring all new car models get the new oil-consumption certifications before they are sold. The new oil-consumption regulations are very stringent and are expected to prevent many big engine-displacement limousines and sport cars from being sold on the island.

An auto importer said, for example, that a Maybach super-luxury limousine model (produced by the DaimlerChrysler Group) can hardly meet the new rules that require an over-4,200cc (including) passenger car to run 7.2 kilometers with one liter of gasoline, though the top-end model is now compliant with the existing regulations, under which an over-2,176 kilogram car should run at least 5.3 kilometers with one liter of gasoline.

The importer said that the Maybach models would be excluded from the import list after July because the automaker would not change their settings for only a small market. An official of DaimlerChrysler Taiwan (DCT), local agent of the Maybach limousines, said that the Maybach models are custom-made and it takes about six months to deliver after an order is placed. He urged local buyers of the expensive car to place orders as soon as possible or they will no longer own such a vehicle even they have the money.

DCT said that four Maybach limos have been sold in Taiwan in 2004 and the local agent invested over NT$10 million (US$310,560 at US$1: NT$32.2) to set up a specific repair and maintenance center for Maybach limos. DCT worries that the high-end after-sales service center could provide services to only four vehicles in the future.

Auto importers also noted many super-luxury cars priced at over NT$30 million (US$931,677) would also be banned from entering Taiwan, including Rolls Royce, Bently and Porsche, Ferrari sport cars, as over-3,600cc models would not pass the new regulations. That means, the importers said, the choices for rich men and entrepreneurs would greatly decrease.