Taiwan a Major Supplier of High-quality Tuning & Performance Parts

When you ride on an Italian Bimota TESI 3D, one of the world's most expensive monster bikes, the first thing you look at will be the high-end tuning-gauge set supplied by a Taiwan company. If you look carefully at the shiny, sophisticated detail on a well-dressed Harley-Davison monster roaring down the street, you will see that about 90% of the high-level tuning parts (with the exception of powertrain-related items) are also from Taiwan.

These examples help to explain why TAITRA chose "Tuning & Performance Enhancing Parts" as one of the four major themes of the show, where you will have a chance to get up close to many of Taiwan's top suppliers.

"Thanks to the combined efforts of local companies," comments Wu Shih-hsiung, president of Tong Yah Electronic Technology Co., "Taiwan has become one of the world's top-three suppliers of high-end performance-tuning parts and accessories for motorcycles and scooters, trailing only Italy and Japan. The positive aspect of this is that the local motorcycle tuning-parts industry has a chance to use the strengths it has built up to upgrade into the upper end of the market, but the negative aspect is that if it fails to do so it will be weeded out by rivals in lower-cost nations."

Tong Yah is the leading maker of motorcycle performance-tuning parts in Taiwan, and its KOSO brand has become internationally known for the highest quality and most advanced innovation. Through his 30 years of experience in the line, its president has witnessed every step in the progress of the industry on Taiwan.

World-class Competitiveness in Scooter Tuning

With its strong manufacturing capability and stringent quality management, Wu points out, Taiwan has been playing a vital role in the international motorcycle tuning-parts market for a long time. That market is currently divided into three main sectors: tuning parts and accessories for Harley-Davison, for big-bore motorbikes, and for light scooters.

In the first sector, Taiwanese suppliers together account for about 80% to 90% of the overall market; most of them produce mainly according to the specifications supplied by foreign customers, however, and so have little room to pursue higher-margin, higher-value-added products. Owing to Taiwan's lack of big-bore engine development capability, most local companies in the second sector focus on exterior decorative items, or products made on OEM basis for big international brands, rather than high-margin mechanical tuning parts for horsepower-boosting.

Most Taiwanese suppliers, according to Wu, have become strong players in the third sector by constantly introducing newer and better products made with new materials, manufacturing techniques, and innovations. "Thanks to their overall competitiveness," Wu notes, "local companies in the line want to upgrade themselves to escape price-cutting competition from low-cost foreign rivals. Made-in-Taiwan tuning parts for light scooters enjoy the strongest competitiveness in the world, a position that is further consolidated by the big domestic scooter market (around 800,000 units per year) which provides a great proving platform on which locally developed scooter tuning items can win the trust of customers worldwide."

Challenge Ahead

"Despite its strong manufacturing capability, good product quality, and superior innovation ability," Wu concedes, "Taiwan's tuning-parts line is still facing a big challenge: to realize the global-brand concept."

What local tuning-parts makers' lack, Wu points out, is a clear concept about using the most advanced technology and industry-leading innovation to create internationally recognized brands, which is the key to upgraded global competitiveness and more sustainable operation. This concept is intimately related to the understanding among company owners of the importance of quality management, global marketing, the constant recruitment of R&D talent, technical advancement, and other factors. "If some of our local players can really recognize the importance of this concept." Wu says, "we can anticipate about five or six global tuning-parts brands coming from Taiwan over the next few years."

Citing his own company's KOSO brand as an example, Wu suggests that tuning-parts makers should specialize in one or more product categories. "R&D is the key to a firm's competitiveness," he stresses, "because only through R&D can a company develop new products that its competitors will not be able to catch up with quickly. At Tong Yah, we found our niche in high-end tuning gauges many years ago, and now R&D spending consumes 25% to 30% of our annual revenue."

Everything You Need in Taiwan

"Taiwan is a place for tuning-parts buyers from throughout the world to find anything they need," Wu claims. "Many companies here can provide product quality, technology, and service that will satisfy any buyer. And we anticipate that concerted efforts by the government and private manufacturers will further upgrade the island into a supply base of high-end motorcycle tuning parts, not only of exterior items but also all kinds of products for big-bore motorcycles and scooters of all types."