Slow sales do not put the brakes on motorbike production

Many motorbike sales agents in Vietnam have said that they suffered from big losses in 2013, and have yet to see any improvement.

A leader from Saigon General Service Corporation (Savico) said last year the company saw a growth in auto sales of 20%, but faced the hardest year ever for the sales of motorbikes, which fell by 20% compared to 2012. Even now the firm continues to see sluggish sales.

Many motorbike sales agents suffering from losses

Many other agents also said that their sales very slow in spite of a sharp fall in prices. Meanwhile, they still have to cover overhead. For many agents the situation has become so bad that they have had to close their doors and find ways to avoid creditors.

A Honda agent in Hanoi said since 2013 they have sold only around 100 motorbikes per month, compared to the normal 300, causing a loss of around VND200 million (USD9,523) a month.

The situation is even worse for Yamaha, Suzuki and SYM agents. One Yamaha agent in Thanh Xuan District said that since mid-March, they have sold only 30 motorbikes.

Producers remain upbeat

Amid the low demand in the local market, producers have continued increasing their production capacity and launching new models.

After the construction of the third Honda plant in Vietnam, the company has invested in the Piston with a total investment of VND230 billion (USD1.1 million).

Piaggio Vietnam has introduced the Liberty Restyling 2014 model to continue their focus on high-end customers. Early this year, SYM launched the Attila Elizabeth Smart Idle model, while Honda Vietnam rolled out the new model of PCX with a number of improvements. Lambretta introduced Lamsport model especially for men.

Costantino Sambuy, General Director of Piaggio Vietnam said Vietnam still sees an annual growth rate of 8% in motorbike sales. It is forecast that by 2017, Vietnam’s per capita income will climb to USD2,600, which is expected to boost demand.

Costantino Sambuy added that Vietnam will become Piaggio’s motorbike production centre and in time to come. Piaggio plans on continuing producing new models in the near future.

Wang Chinh Tung, General Director of General Director of motorbike sales for SYM Vietnam said the slowdown in consumption is just temporary, and is due to economic difficulties. Economic growth is expected to bounce back in the 2015 – 2016 period, and it is hoped this will boost sales.