Taiwan' s PTW Sales Down 12.9% in May

Taipei, June 8, 2006 (CENS)--Taiwan's powered two-wheeler (PTW) makers are plagued by both declining domestic sales and fierce price-cutting competition from rivals in mainland China in export sales.

Statistics compiled by the Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC) showed that a total of 54,600 new PTWs were sold in May in the domestic market, down 12.9% from the same period of last year. In the first five months, a total of 275,500 new PTWs were licensed in Taiwan, down 4%.

Major motorcycle manufacturers pointed out that the domestic market is still suffering poor sales climate resulting from banks tightening personal consumer loans.

Sanyang Industry Co., Ltd. (SYM brand), the No. 3 PTW brand in Taiwan, claimed that it has begun adjusting its product strategies toward big engine-displacement, higher unit-price models. The firm, for instance, is to launch aggressive sales promotion for a higher-end 150cc scooter model, the Fighter.

A senior Sanyang official pointed out that his company's motorcycle sales are expected to rebound significantly in June.

Taiwan PTW makers' export sales are facing low-price competition from mainland Chinese makers in the line. Some major PTW brands in Taiwan admitted that they used to utilize profits generated from exports to subsidize models sold in the domestic market, but now such strategy is no longer workable.

A local PTW maker disclosed that the quotation for a 250cc all terrain vehicle (ATV) model exported to Europe stood at US$5,000 early this year, but has fallen to only about US$3,000 for the moment due to price-cutting competition from Chinese rivals. He pointed out that the average prices for PTW and ATV models bound for Europe post an average drop of 20% per year due to price competition, thus seriously lowering the profit margins of local PTW/ATV exporters.

Sales of PTWs in Taiwan (Jan. ?May, 2006 )
Brand/Maker	May			Jan.-May
	Volume	Share	Growth (YoY)	Volume	Share	Growth (YoY)
KYMCO/ Kwang Yang	19,706	36.1%	-6.2%	99,889	36.3%	1.4%
Yamaha/ Yamaha Taiwan	16,478	30.2%	-14.9%	85,897	31.2%	-1.8%
SYM/ Sanyang	15,231	27.9%	-19.2%	73,739	26.8%	-12.7%
Suzuki/ Tailing	1,974	3.6%	-6.9%	10,330	3.7%	%
PGO/ Motive Power	617	1.1%	-19.9%	2,854	1.0%	%
Others	579	1.1%	--	2,801	1.0%	%
Total	54,585	100.0%	-12.9%	275,510	100.0%
Source: MOTC.