The third Taiwan International Motorcycle Show (Motorcycle Taiwan 2008), the largest international event of its type on the island, is scheduled to be held from April 9 to 12, 2008 with an even bigger show than the successful 2007 event.



According to show organizer Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA), Motorcycle Taiwan 2007 drew 166 exhibitors who used about 370 booths to display their products, and about 15,000 visitors. The 2008 event is expected to attract about 200 local and foreign exhibitors at the expanded location, the Taipei World Trade Center (TWTC) Exhibition Hall 1, and feature around 500 booths displaying new, high-quality, and innovative products.

The Motorcycle Taiwan 2008 will be simultaneously held with two other major exhibitions, the Taipei Int`l Auto Parts & Accessories Show (Taipei AMPA 2008) and Taipei International Automobile Electronics Show (AutoTronics Taipei 2008), making the tri-show event one of the world`s most important and comprehensive trade shows related to vehicular products.

The volume of applications from exhibitors has been brisk, TAITRA says, with over 120 exhibitors already having booked over 250 booths by early September, whose names can be found at http://www.MotorcycleTaiwan.com.tw.



"No matter how you look at it, the first event was a big success," says Mario Tsai, manager of the Exhibition Section 1 under TAITRA`s Exhibition Department. "The exhibitor turnout was strong and around 1,000 key global buyers attended, mainly from Japan, the U.S., Thailand, mainland China, Germany, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Indonesia, Italy and South Korea. We anticipate an even bigger and more globalized show in 2008 with a more comprehensive range of products and more buyers."

Major exhibition themes at Motorcycle Taiwan 2007 included complete vehicles (motorcycles, scooters, ATVs, electric scooters, and electric bicycles), engine and parts, vehicle frames, accessories, riding accessories, vehicle testing and inspection equipment, and noise and emissions testing equipment.

Big Names

An impressive list of buyers from several leading companies visited the 2007 show and are expected to return in 2008 as well. Among them are BMW Motorrad, Magura Gustav Magenwirth, Paaschburg & Wunderrilich GmbH of Germany; Polaris Industries Inc., Schwinn Motor Scooters, Unison Motorsports etc. of the U.S.; Piaggio & C, Lampa Spa etc. Italy; Yamaha, Honda, Red Baron of Japan; Bajaj and Speedomax of India; Derbi of Spain; Motorvan of Canada; and many others.

According to TAITRA, the main draw of Motorcycle Taiwan is its position as a world-class trade fair for all the top names in Taiwan`s motorcycle industry. The show also helped to confirm Taiwan`s reputation as a supplier of top quality and competitively priced motorcycle products.

Forums

At last year`s event, a number of key industry figures were invited to speak at the show seminars on various topics, including Gerald Kiska, CEO of Kiska Design, talked about motorcycle design; Tony Wixo, director of Asia Pacific Sourcing, Polaris Industries Representative Office Shanghai, introduced ways to become suppliers to major ATV makers in the U.S.; Jacques Compagne, secretary general of the Association of the European Motorcycle Manufacturers (ACEM), talked on the motorcycle market in Europe; and George Lin, president of Taiwan Golden Bee Co. Ltd., discussed the global opportunities for Taiwan`s motorcycle industry.



Due to the strong turnout, TAITRA says it will expand the seminar program for the 2008 show.

TAITRA says that Motorcycle Taiwan has four major aims, including showcasing the capability of Taiwan-made motorcycle products, motorcycle designs and innovations, ATV trends, and tuning and performance enhancing parts.

Positive Signs

Tsai sees many positive signs in the local motorcycle industry, indicating that Taiwan is becoming a vital development and manufacturing base for high-level PTWs and ATVs.

"Taiwan`s declining domestic PTW sales volume (currently about 700,000 units per year, dropping from the previous peak of about one million) has driven local complete-vehicle and parts makers to more aggressively develop international sales," he explains. "The export volume of Taiwan-made PTWs and ATVs outstripped domestic sales for the first time in 2004. In addition, high gas prices are making motorcycles more attractive than cars for many buyers."



More importantly, Tsai says, many major complete-vehicle and engine makers in Taiwan have been actively developing large-displacement engines (up to 1,000cc). These engines are used in utility vehicles (UTVs), powerful ATVs, and golf carts, as well as in traditional scooters and motorcycles. At the same time, the motorcycle industry is developing products not only for transportation, but also for utility, agricultural, and recreational uses.

According to Tsai, another positive trend for Taiwan makers of PTWs, ATVs, and related products is that the expanding global motorcycle market is expected to generate an annual demand for about 40.9 million units by 2009, up sharply from about 32.9 million in 2003.

More and more Taiwanese motorcycle brands, such as KYMCO (Kwang Yang Motor Co., Ltd.), SYM (Sanyang Industry Co., Ltd.), TGB (Taiwan Golden Bee), and Adly (Her Chee Industrial Co., Ltd.), are building their international presence. Their global emergence has also fueled sales of aftermarket (AM) replacement parts, performance-tuning parts, and accessories.

Motorcycle Taiwan 2007
	Exhibitors (Year 2006)	Growth Rate	Booths (Year 2006)	Growth Rate
Local Exhibitors	159 (141)	12.77%	358 (292)	22.6%
Overseas Exhibitors	7 (9)	-22.2%*	12 (15)	-20%
total	166 (150)	10.7%	370 (307)	20.5%
*: Motorcycle Taiwan 2007 (May 18~20 2007) was held 7 months after Motorcycle Taiwan 2006 (Oct. 27~29 2006) and this is why there was a decrease of the overseas exhibitors in the 2007 exhibition. Due to enough lead time for Motorcycle Taiwan 2008 (Apr. 9~12), the foreign exhibitor numbers are expected to grow. Source: TAITRA.

(by Quincy Liang)