SYM Aims to Sell 625,000 PTWs Globally in 2014: President Liu

While announcing three company business development directions in 2014, Sanyang Industry Co., Ltd. (SYM brand), a major powered two-wheeler (PTW) maker in Taiwan, recently projected annual global sales volume at some 525,000 units for the new year.

Liu Yung-Hua, SYM's president, said that in the new year his company will focus on exploring new export markets, accelerating new-product development planning, and restructuring its Vietnamese subsidiary Vietnam Manufacturing and Export Processing Co. Ltd. (VMEP). SYM also expects to raise its market share in Taiwan, in which the firm was the No. 3 vendor by selling 142,667 new PTWs for a market share of 21.4% in 2013, also hoping to raise VMEP's sales volume by 50% to make its global shipments total 625,000 units.

To further upgrade its brand image, SYM recently invited a Taiwanese expatriate baseball player in Japan to endorse its newly announced Fighter 150 scooter to be sold in Taiwan. At the new-product debut, Liu also announced his company's determination to restore high sales volume on the island.

Liu attributed SYM's slipping market share in Taiwan to the ineffective transition between old and new products, causing slow inventory clearing. From 2014, he stressed, inventories at distributors will be normalized.

SYM will also focus on brand-image upgrading by renovating signboards and renewing equipment at distributors, so as to offer refreshing feeling to consumers. Regarding more aggressive marketing measures, SYM plans to carry out more promotions at school campuses and more sports marketing.

Liu is optimistic about achieving annual domestic sales goal of some 150,000 units in 2014, maintaining its top-three position and trying to restore higher market share.

Taiwan is a very mature PTW market which can hardly see significant market growth in the future, Liu said, and SYM's future business development will rely on export expansion. In 2014, he said, SYM will refocus on high-potential export markets, especially Latin America.

Once a moneymaker for SYM group for many years, VMEP, a major PTW maker in Vietnam, sank into the red in 2012 and 2013. Liu said that his company has set up a special task force that he will personally head to restructure VMEP, with the goal to elevate VMEP's annual PTW sales in Vietnam to 260,000 units, from about 170,000 in 2013.

Caption: SYM president Liu Yung-hua (left) invites a Taiwanese expatriate baseball player to endorse the new, 6th- generation Fighter 150 scooter.