Posted on 14 November 2007

 

Source: BVOM, November 14, 2007

The total number of motorbikes to be sold this year may reach 2.5mil units, according to the Vietnam Automobile, Motorbike and Bicycle Manufacturers’ Association.

 

The motorbike market has become more bustling towards the end of the year with higher purchasing power nationwide, especially in the central region, which has been suffering from the historic flood.

 

Of this amount of 2.5mil units, local manufacturers are expected to sell 800,000 units, equal to that volume of 2006. The other 1.7mil units are made by foreign invested enterprises and are imports. Honda Vietnam alone churns out 1mil units, Yamaha Vietnam nearly 400,000 units, SYM and Suzuki 200,000, while the imports will be some 100,000 units.

 

In October 2007 alone, Honda Vietnam sold 103,000 units of different types, 5,000 units higher compared to September 2007, and 30,000 units higher than October 2006.

 

Yamaha Vietnam follows Honda in sales. In October 2007, the company sold more than 40,000 units, an increase of 3,000 units compared to September 2007.

 

Four foreign invested enterprises, Honda, Yamaha, SYM and Suzuki Vietnam, sold 170,000 units in October, while two others, SYM and Suzuki, also saw sales up, but at the modest level of 500 units per month.

 

A sales agent of Honda Vietnam on Ba Trieu street said that his sales in October were nearly double three months ago. In July, he sold 150 units only, while the figure now is 300 units. Black Wave S, Air Blade, Attila Elizabeth are the most popular models.

 

The Attila Elizabeth manufactured by SYM has been selling so well that the real retail prices are always VND2-3mil higher than the manufacturer’s suggested retail price. However, as the manufacturer raised output, the shortage has stopped.

 

Mai Huy, Business Deputy Director of Hoalam-Kymco, said that the sales of the company increased by 20% last month. He said that the demand for scooters had been soaring and would see further increases towards Tet. That has prompted the company to market a new model of 110cc scooter to attract customers.

 

According to Dinh Quang Tuan, Marketing Director of Yamaha Vietnam, sales always go up in the last months of the year. The central region, which was thought would be quiet as a result of the flood, has turned out to be the most bustling. However, Mr Tuan said that the domestic market now did not favour cheap models any more.

 

That explains why domestic owned enterprises’ products are not selling well. According to Le Anh Tuan, Deputy Chairman of the Vietnam Automobile, Motorbike and Bicycle Manufacturers’ Association, Sugar seems to be the only domestic manufacturer that is seeing satisfactory sales, while the majority of the 20 other domestic manufacturers are suffering. Mr Tuan said that the motorbikes worth VND6-8mil are selling very slowly.

 

These enterprises have reported the sales of 3,000 units a month at maximum; some of them have been able to sell 500 units a month.

 

Used motorbikes have also become redoubtable rivals to domestic products thanks to dirt cheap prices. A 3-5-year-old Yamaha Sirius is selling at VND5-6mil, while Suzuki’s and SYM’s are selling at VND3-5mil, and Max by Kawasaki is selling at several hundred thousand VND only.

 

Residents in urban areas have shifted to drive expensive scooters and they sell these used motorbikes to rural areas. As for farmers, these used motorbikes are even better than brand new motorbikes made by domestic manufacturers.

 

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