TAIPEI (TVBS News) — Electric scooter market share in Taiwan has declined following a tax reduction policy favoring gasoline motorcycles, the Smart Mobility Association Taiwan (SMAT, 台灣智慧移動產業協會) reported Tuesday (Dec. 2). SMAT attributed the trend to President Lai Ching-te's (賴清德) revised commodity tax ordinance issued in September and urged the government to implement specific measures to counteract this decline.
President Lai extended tax reductions for replacing old vehicles and introduced new cuts for cars under 2000cc and motorcycles under 150cc in the September ordinance. The policy favored gasoline motorcycles as manufacturers aggressively cut prices, shifting market sales toward fuel-powered scooters and away from electric alternatives, SMAT noted. This created an unintended competitive disadvantage for electric scooter manufacturers in Taiwan's transportation market.
Electric scooter registrations declined continuously over three months, with market share dropping from 8.77% in September to 7.59% in November, representing a 1.18 percentage point decrease, SMAT data showed. SMAT recommended the Ministry of Environment (環境部), Taiwan's environmental regulatory body, reinstate subsidies for new electric scooter purchases to lower barriers for first-time buyers seeking low-emission vehicles. The association emphasized subsidies would help offset the price advantage gasoline motorcycles gained through the tax reduction policy.
SMAT suggested the Ministry of Finance (財政部), Taiwan's finance ministry, introduce a green deduction system to further incentivize the purchase of eco-friendly transportation options beyond traditional tax reductions. The association called on the Ministry of Transportation and Communications (交通部), Taiwan's transport ministry, to establish clear electric scooter sales ratios among manufacturers, ensuring the industry shares the responsibility of reducing carbon emissions and achieving national climate goals. These policy recommendations aim to create a more balanced competitive environment for electric and gasoline-powered vehicles.
