Taipei Auto Show returns after 4-year hiatus, EVs in spotlight

Taipei, Dec. 28 (CNA) The 2024 Taipei Auto Show opened on Thursday after a four-year hiatus, with car brands putting their hybrid and electric models front and center.

More than 100 models from over 20 local and international auto brands are being presented at the five-day car show, a biennial event last held in Taipei from Dec. 28, 2019 to Jan. 5, 2020, according to the Taipei Automobile Distributors Association.

In addition to a newly established exhibition of new-energy vehicles, including electric vehicles (EVs) and hybrid models, at Nangang Exhibition Center in Taipei, the auto show is also being attended by companies in EV-related businesses, the association said in a statement Wednesday.

Auto makers present at the show include Taiwan-based Luxgen, Aston Martin, Nissan, Lotus, Subaru, Vespa and Tesla, which for the first time are joined by EV charging solution providers such as Delta Electronics and Yulon Group's Yes Charging, according to the association.

Gaming PC brand Micro-Star International (MSI) is also displaying its EV chargers for homes and commercial uses.

Several car company executives shared their views on the development of the EV market in Taiwan at the auto show on Thursday.

Yulon Nissan Motor Co. President Clock Chung (鐘文川) said he expects new-energy vehicles to take a 25-30 percent share of the global car market by 2030.

There is a market for hybrid models in the short term, because the sector still needs to overcome the challenges posed by the high prices of EVs and the inconvenient charging infrastructure, he said.

Apart from the rising price of raw materials and components, EV production capacity has been restricted by the need for more auto chips and batteries in vehicles, leading to delayed deliveries, Chung said.

Two Japanese brands distributed by Hotai Motor in Taiwan, Lexus and Toyota, both showed a wide range of hybrid and electric models.

Simon Liu (劉松山), a Hotai executive in the company's Toyota division, said the Japanese brand has solved most issues surrounding auto chip supplies, but productions in Japan has reached full capacity, with the brand seeking to adjust production lines to improve output.

The high price of EVs is caused by the lack of economic scale and limited sales, and if production can be expanded to meet higher demand, the price of such vehicles could drop to around NT$1 million (US$32,586) or lower, Liu said.

He also looked forward to the introduction of Toyota's Mirai series, with both electric and hybrid models, equipped with hydrogen fuel cells, displayed at the auto show.