A Honda showroom in HCM City. Members of the Vietnam Association of Motorcycle Manufacturers reported lower sales in the second quarter, but Honda Vietnam says it has introduced new models and versions of motorbikes with larger engines to satisfy domestic consumers. — Photo Vietnamplus

Members of the Vietnam Association of Motorcycle Manufacturers witnessed sales of more than 749,500 units in the second quarter of this year, marking a decrease of 4.4 per cent from the same period last year.

The figures were recently released by the Vietnam Association of Motorcycle Manufacturers (VAMM). The association has five members: Honda Vietnam, Yamaha Motor Vietnam, Suzuki Vietnam, Piaggio Vietnam and SYM Vietnam.

VAMM members offer a wide range of products from domestic assembly to imports, including manual motorbikes, scooters and motorbikes with high engine displacement. Each product has several versions priced from VND18 million (US$772) to VND1.2 billion, depending on the model and brand.

The range ensures domestic consumers have ample options when looking to buy a motorbike.

The VAMM sales figures do not represent the total sales of the domestic market because they do not include other imported brand names that are not members of the association such as Kymco, Ducati, Kawasaki, BMW, KTM, Benelli, Harley Davidson, Triumph, Royal Enfield and Motorrad.

The Vietnamese motorcycle market also has the newly launched VinFast brand with two versions of its Klara electric motorbike going on sale from November 20 last year. VinFast is not a member of VAMM.

According to insiders, the market is considered to very saturated but still has potential. The association's reduced second quarter sales numbers could be due to the increased participation of non-member brands in the market.

Speaking at a recent conference reviewing motorbike sales in Ha Noi, President of VAMM Keisuke Tsuruzono said that in the 2019 fiscal year (from April 2018 to March 2019), there were 3.37 million vehicles sold, an increase of 2.7 per cent compared to the previous fiscal year.

Sales of Honda Vietnam reached 2.56 million vehicles, up 7.6 per cent compared to fiscal year 2018 and accounting for 76.8 per cent of the total.

Honda Vietnam successfully opened its first Honda Moto store in HCM City this year and has expanded to other provinces and cities. It has also introduced 18 models of motorcycles and new versions of motorbikes with larger engines to satisfy domestic consumers.

In the recent meeting, Chairman and General Director of Piaggio Vietnam cum Executive Vice President of Asia Pacific Gianluca Fiume told local media that the company’s business result revealed double-digit growth in sales. The biggest contribution came from the Piaggio Medley and the high-end Vespa GTS.

According to Fiume the Vietnamese motorbike market has clearly polarised into separate affordable and high-end segments. Many people now see their vehicles are more than just a means of transportation; scooters show the class of the vehicle and the owner.

Viet Nam’s economy has been rapidly developing, improving incomes and leading to increased sales of high-end scooters.

In the future, the high-end segment is likely to grow faster than the rest of the motorbike market. This is why, 10 years ago, Piaggio set a target to turn Piaggio Vietnam into the main production and trade centre in the Asia-Pacific region to serve Vietnamese consumers and export markets. — VNS