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New PTW Sales in Taiwan Fall 1.6% YoY in Nov.

2015/01/09 | By Quincy Liang

Sales of new powered two-wheeler (PTW) in Taiwan declined over 21% month-on-month (MoM) and 8.52% year-on-year (YoY) in November to just 43,456 units, marking the fifth consecutively declining month in the sector, according to statistics compiled by the Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC).

The downward trend, attributed to seasonality factors, culminated in a YoY drop of 1.6% for the PTW industry in 2014, ending the sector's previous three-year growth run.

Facing stagnant domestic demand, all major PTW vendors asked distributors to reduce inventory and keep most orders to early 2015. In the first 11 months, accumulated new PTW sales in Taiwan totaled 621,862 units, down 1.55% YoY.

Kwang Yang Motor Co., Ltd. (KYMCO), the largest PTW vendor in Taiwan for the past 14 years, retained its leading position in November by delivering 17,409 new PTWs, down 11.7% YoY, but still holding a high market share of 40.1% during the period. In the first 11 months of 2014, KYMCO's accumulated sales volume reached 264,030 units, up 1.76% YoY. The company expects its 2014 sales to maintain at a similar level, at about 271,000 units, at year-end.

Yamaha Motor Taiwan Co. (Yamaha) sold 14,099 new PTWs in November, making it the only one among the top three PTW vendors in Taiwan to increase sales over the year. The company posted a 5.1% gain in the month, boosting the firm's market share to 33.4%.

After a recent management reshuffle, Sanyang Industry Co., Ltd. (SYM) asked its distributors to reduce inventory to the end of 2014, leading to a 38.7% YoY volume decrease to 5,844 units.

Industry insiders said that all major PTW brands have no intention to further boost sales in December, but are eyeing the 2015 market. Overall monthly sales in December are therefore expected to be lower than normal.

The sources estimate overall new PTW sales in Taiwan in 2014 would be about 650,000 units (compared to 667,973 units in 2013), but demand in early 2015 is expected to be slowed by distributor inventory reduction. However, some sources disclosed that KYMCO's PTW production lines have been working overtime recently, implying an intention to re-stock distributors to gain more business in 2015.

New PTW Sales in Taiwan (Jan. - Nov. 2014)
Maker Nov.
Volume
Market
Share
YoY Jan.-Nov.
Volume
KYMCO 17,409

40.1%

-11.7%

264,030

Yamaha Taiwan 5,844

13.4%

-38.7%

98,731

SYM 14,099

32.4%

5.1%

193,019

Others 6,104

14.0%

26.2%

66,082

Total 43,456

100.0%

-1.6%

621,863

Source: MOTC