New PTW Sales in Jan. Hit 20-year Low
2010/02/06 | By Quincy LiangTaipei, Feb. 6, 2010 (CENS)--The sales of new powered two-wheelers (PTWs) in Taiwan in January 2010 totaled 11,698 units, down 34.5% year-on-year (YoY) and down more than 90% month-on-month (MoM), according to statistics compiled by the Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC).
The government stopped subsidizing NT$4,000 (about US$123) internal combustion engine (ICE) PTWs at 2009-end, forcing clear sales drop in the New Year. January new-PTW sales volume was the lowest monthly record in 20 years.
Kwang Yang Motor Co., Ltd. (KYMCO), the long-term No. 1 PTW seller in Taiwan, lost its lead to the other two major rivals, the monthly No. 1 Yamaha Motor Taiwan Co. (Yamaha) and No.2 Sanyang Industry Co., Ltd. for the first time in 10 years.
Industry sources said that the first-quarter new-PTW sales will most likely be a record low in many years.
To confront the shrinking domestic market, KYMCO has been actively trying to find new ways, including contract supplying a increasing number of motorcycle engines to German brand BMW, as well as stepping into production of small automotive engines.
Most PTW distributors in Taiwan are not optimistic about sales in 2010. Some of them said that many counterparts pre-licensed at least 100,000 PTWs by the end of 2009 to qualify for the government subsidy. The so-called "new secondhand" models would be sold in 2010, they explained.
The top-three companies believe that the domestic PTW market could return to normal only after the second quarter, or fully cleared of the "new secondhand" models.
| New PTW Sales in Taiwan (Jan. 2010) | |||
| Maker | December Volume | Market Share | YoY |
| Yamaha Taiwan | 3,934 | 33.6% | -34.0% |
| SYM | 3,723 | 31.8% | -31.2% |
| KYMCO | 3,583 | 30.6% | -24.7% |
| Others | 458 | 3.9% | -- |
| Total | 11,698 | 100.0% | -34.5% |
| Source: MOTC. | |||