Thailand motorcycle market rides boom.

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Thailand motorcycle market rides boom 
The Nation: 4 Sep 2010
Motorcycle market rides boom
By THE NATION
Published on September 4, 2010

Thailand's motorcycle market surged dramatically to exceed 1 million units in the first seven months of this year. Sales in July alone reached 156,526 units despite the normally low-sales rainy season.

Total motorcycle sales reached 1.08 million units in the seven months. Honda alone sold 744,749 units in the period.

Of the 156,526 motorcycles sold in July alone, 103,316 were Hondas. Fuel-injected motorcycles posted the highest sales in July, at 101,150 units, accounting for about a 65-per-cent share of total sales in the month. There are currently about 1.4 million fuel-injected motorcycles being used in the market.

Theerapat Jiwapong, sales director of AP Honda, said the 744,749 motorcycles sold in the first seven months of the year gave it a 68-per-cent share of the market. The company sold 156,526 units in July alone, up 17,626 units from the same month last year.

"By looking into sales registration details of Honda motorcycles, we found that the surge has reflected the change in buying behaviour of Thai consumers, which goes beyond just fuel saving and capability. They also want comfort and ease of handling. There is a motorcycle to serve any consumer lifestyle," he said.

Total motorcycle sales reached 156,526 units in July, of which 83,738 or 53 per cent had automatic transmissions.

Family motorcycles posted sales of 69,799 units in July, accounting for 45 per cent of total motorcycle sales in that month. Family sport motorcycles achieved sales of 713 units in July, followed by 482 units for sport motorcycles, and another 1,794 units of off-road and other types of motorcycles.

As noted above, Honda posted sales of 103,316 motorcycles for a 66-per-cent market share in July this year, followed by Yamaha with sales of 43,358 units and 28-per-cent market share.

Suzuki posted sales of 6,399 motorcycles in July with 4-per-cent market share, followed by Kawasaki with 1,575 units. Tiger, Platinum and JRD posted July sales at 197, 89, and 29 motorcycles respectively.