Sales of New PTWs in Taiwan Continue to Rise in Feb.

The sales of new powered two-wheelers (PTWs) in Taiwan continue to show a strong rebound to reach 38,300 units in February 2011, a 65% year-on-year (YoY) increase from that of last year, according to statistics compiled by the Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC).

In the first two months, new PTW sales in Taiwan totaled 75,500 units, a 116.6% YoY increase.

New PTW sales in January hit about 37,000 units, more than double that in 2010, to which industry experts attribute hot selling 125cc, entry-level scooters from Kwang Yang Motor Co., Ltd. (KYMCO) and Sanyang Industry Co., Ltd. (SYM).

The promising sales in the first two months of this year has the top-three PTW vendors in Taiwan, Kwang Yang Motor Co., Ltd. (KYMCO), Sanyang Industry Co., Ltd. (SYM), and Yamaha Motor Taiwan Co. (Yamaha) feeling optimistic about this year's business. KYMCO, the long-term leader, even announced to achieve 40% market share this year.

The top-three PTW vendors in Taiwan in February remained unchanged, being KYMCO (16,176 units and 42.2% share); SYM (10,965 units and 28.6% share); and Yamaha Taiwan (9,620 units and 25.1% share).

With a promising start, some makers are optimistic about the outlook in Taiwan, expecting sales to rebound to about 600,000 units in 2011 or up about 10% from about 530,000 units in 2010.

With universities having started the new semester, demand for entry-level 125cc scooters is expected to continue rising into March. Some makers forecast monthly sales of new PTWs to exceed 40,000 units.

New PTW Sales in Taiwan (January-February 2011)
Maker	Feb. Volume	Market Share	Jan.-Feb. Volume	Market Share	YoY
KYMCO	16,176	42.2%	30,288	40.0%	251.5%
SYM	10,965	28.6%	22,290	29.5%	136.3%
Yamaha Taiwan	9,620	25.1%	19,639	26.0%	24.3%
Others	1,548	4.0%	3,327	4.4%	227.8%
Total	38,300	100.0%	75,484	100.0%	116.6%
Source: MOTC