Motorcycle companies struggle to stay afloat

Motorcycles manufacturers in Vietnam are trying to survive in the face of a prolonged market slump by introducing more budget units with higher domestic content.
Motorcycles manufacturers in Vietnam are trying to survive in theface of a prolonged market slump by introducing more budget units withhigher domestic content.

The Vietnam Association of MotorcycleManufacturers (VAMM) revealed that from April to September, all of itsfive members sold a combined 1.25 million units, a seven-percentyear-on-year decline. But September witnessed a slight increase in salesdue to students' higher demand for new motorcycles during enrolment.

Augustmarked the 15th consecutive month of decline in the volume ofmotorcycle sales. However, manufacturers remained optimistic and evenintroduced a number of new models in recent months.

Japanese-fundedHonda Vietnam (HVN) seems to be the busiest motorcycle manufacturer.Last month, it introduced three new models: the Vision scooter, Bladeand MSX125.

Earlier this year, the company, based in northernVinh Phuc province, launched four new models and facelifts, includingPCX 125 and Wave 110 RSX Fi last January, Air Blade last March andFuture last June.

Yamaha Vietnam followed with the launchinglate last month of the Nouvo SX scooter. Last July, the Hanoi-basedcompany rolled out the new Nozza Grande scooter for high-income femaleoffice employees.

Last May, the company also launched Exciter 2014 and Sirius Fi 2014, both facelifts of its earlier models.

PiaggioVietnam, a subsidiary of Europe's largest scooter manufacturer, ispoised to introduce the new Fly 3V scooter. Last June, it rolled outLiberty Restyling 2014, targeting high-income earners.

LastApril, the Italian motorcycle manufacturer rolled out the new VespaSprint, a sportier version of the new Primavera scooter that the companyintroduced in Vietnam in November 2013.

Higher local content and more exports
To reduce prices, most foreign motorcycle manufacturers in Vietnam successfully increased the domestic content of their units.

According to the VAMM, most of its member companies achieved a 90-percent domestic content rate.

Taiwanese manufacturer SYM is apparently leading as most of its products have 95-percent domestic content.

HondaVietnam (HVN) followed, with many of its products having 90- to95-percent domestic content, including Air Blade, Future, Wave and SHMode.

Though the domestic motorcycle market continues todecline, HVN still sets its sales target for both domestic and exportmarkets in fiscal year April 2014 to March 2015 at two million units, asix-percent year-on-year increase.

About three millionmotorcycles are consumed in Vietnam every year. The five big jointventures in motorcycle manufacturing alone churn out four million units ayear. The oversupply compels manufacturers to boost exports and turnVietnam into the world's motorcycle production base.

Many producers have already begun exporting their units, mostly to other Asian markets and to Africa.

Figuresfrom the Vietnam General Department of Customs showed that the exportvalue of transport vehicles, mostly motorcycles, increased by 32.2percent last year to 4.6 billion USD, or four percent of Vietnam's totalexport revenues.

From March to October, HVN earned 200 millionUSD in revenues from exports. The company's target export turnover forthe entire year is 247 million USD. HVN also plans to gradually makeVietnam a motorcycle export centre of Honda Motor Corporation.

PiaggioVietnam revealed that after increasing its annual output to 300,000units, the company would increase exports to neighbouring countries suchas Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia.

Motorcycles are the mostpopular means of transportation in Vietnam, which has a population of 90million people, 37 million registered motorcycles and two millionregistered cars, according to the Ministry of Transport.

Withsales totalling 3.1 million units last year, Vietnam is the fourthlargest motorcycle market in sales after China, India and Indonesia.-VNA

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