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Motorbike market in crisis
The Vietnam motorbike industry has been in deep crisis since May or June this year, according to Koji Onishi, general director of Honda Vietnam, the country’s biggest motorbike manufacturer.
Motorbike makers have been battered by a weak economy, rising petrol prices and the ailing Vietnamese dong to US dollar rate, which depleted the market for motorbikes.
Most of motorbike retailers reported their worst sales ever, with sales volume reduced by 50 percent compared to the same period last year.
A prominent Honda retailer in Hanoi said he has experienced a 70 percent sales drop in the last several weeks.
“This time last year we sold a least 300 units per month, which are now down to 100 units, even after considerable discount for some models,” he said.
A representative from Thanh Tu company, an importer and retailer of luxury scooters, said his company sells only five or seven scooters per day, compared to dozens last year.
“Some days we even fail to sell any motorbikes at all,” he lamented.
Director of Kanglim International Company, distributor of Taiwanese CPI motorbikes in Vietnam , said now each month his company sells only about 30 units.
“The weak economy is hurting us badly, and now we mostly look to the motorbike-services section for profit,” said Pham Manh Sy, director of the Viet Phu company.
According to vice chairman of Vietnam Motorbike and Bicycles Association
Le Anh Tuan, the number of motorbike manufacturers in Vietnam has reduced to 10 from over 30 two years ago.
While most of the motorbike makers have not reported their overall sales in 2008, Honda Vietnam reported it has sold 1.25 million motorbikes this year, an increase of 9 percent over 2007, accounting for some 75 percent of the market share.
The country posted motorbike sales of 2.7 million units in 2007, up from 2.2 million in 2006.
Four major motorbike joint ventures in the country, Honda Vietnam, Yamaha Vietnam , Suzuki Vietnam and SYM, had combined sales of under 1.8 million units.
vna
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