New car sales in the China market are expected to slip 22% to 20 million units in 2020, Taiwan-based Yulon Nissan Motor, has estimated.
China-based carmaker Dong-Feng Nissan, in which Yulon Nissan holds a 10% stake, sold 161,000 cars in China in first-quarter 2020, declining 44.7% on year, and aims to sell 1.27 million units in the whole year.
Mainly due to the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic on the China car market, Yulon Nissan's first-quarter 2020 consolidated revenues dropped 16.73% on year to NT$7.301 billion (US$243.76 million), while net profit reached NT$178.6 million, down 88.17%.
In the Taiwan market, 422,000 automobiles (not including buses and heavy-duty cars) will be sold in 2020, decreasing 1.1% on year, according to Yulon Nissan, a joint venture established by Taiwan-based carmaker Yulon Motor and Japan-based Nissan Motor.
The forecast is based on the assumption the Taiwan government will extend reduction in commodity tax by NT$50,000 to encourage replacements of old cars with new ones, for the reduction, equivalent to a subsidy, is scheduled to expire on January 7, 2021, Yulon Nissan president Leman Lee explained. If the reduction expires as scheduled, there would be a rush to buy new cars in second-half 2020, resulting in actual car sales higher than the forecast figure, Lee noted.
In 2020, Yulon Nissan aims to sell 35,000 cars for a Taiwan market share of 8.3%, Lee said. Viewing that imported automobiles have taken up over 50% of the car sales volume in the Taiwan market, Yulon Nissan will cope with competition from imported cars through boasting higher performance-price ratios for car models produced by Yulon Motor and expanding introduction of Nissan car models for sale in Taiwan, Lee indicated.
