Tesla has no plan to cut prices despite zero tariff on U.S. vehicles

Taipei, Feb. 13 (CNA) Tesla Taiwan said Friday that it does not plan to cut its car prices in the Taiwan market, in the wake of Washington and Taipei signing the Agreement on Reciprocal Trade (ART) Thursday (U.S. time) to eliminate tariffs on U.S.-made cars.

On the other hand, Mercedes-Benz Taiwan said it is planning to lower the price of its five models imported from the U.S. after the zero tariff comes into effect.

In a statement, American electric vehicle brand Tesla said it has no plan to adjust the prices of U.S.-made Model 3, Model S and Model X available in Taiwan as tariffs are not the only factor the automaker uses to determine pricing policies.

• Taiwan to lift import caps on U.S.-spec vehicles, remove tariffs on U.S. cars

Tesla said the company has to take account of other factors, including increasing raw material prices and product shipping costs when considering pricing.

In January, Tesla announced it will stop production of Model S and Model X in the second quarter of this year, while factory space for production of the two models will be reallocated to support production of the company's Optimus humanoid robots.

Despite the end of production, Tesla said it will continue to provide comprehensive aftersales services to buyers of the Model S and Model X, including maintenance, inspection and software upgrading.

For its part, German luxury car brand Mercedes-Benz said after the tariffs are formally eliminated, it will lower the manufacturer's suggested retail price (MSRP) for five of its models: GLE, GLE Coupe, GLS and EQE SUV, in a bid to give back to consumers.

Meanwhile, Wu Ju-hung (吳睿弘), board director of car dealer PG Union Corp., said his company will consider introducing U.S.-made models such as Jeep Grand Cherokee and Stallantis' RAM 1500 to Taiwan.

According to Wu, the company is planning to import the U.S.-made Jeep Wrangler Rubicon and Wrangler Sahara.

Taiwan-based car vendor Yulon Nissan Motor Co., which serves as a sales agent for the U.S.-made INFINITI QX60, said it will consult with the producer INFINITI of Nissan Motor Corp. for a possible price cut after the zero tariffs are implemented.

Yulon Nissan said it will also consider the possibility of importing other Nissan's models made in the United States, such as Rogue, Pathfinder, Frontier, Murano and Altima, in the future.

According to the Ministry of Economic Affairs, car sales in Taiwan stood at 414,000 units in 2025, including 202,000 imported cars, which accounted for 48.7 percent of the total.

MOEA data showed Japan was the largest supplier of imported cars to Taiwan, with a 42 percent share, followed by Germany (26 percent), the U.S. and South Korea (6 percent each) and the Czech Republic (3 percent).

Tesla, Toyota, Ford, Mercedes-Benz and BMW were the top imported car suppliers in Taiwan, the data indicated.