Motorcyclists cross an overpass in HCMC. The consumption of motorcycles on the local market amounted to over three million units last year, down 3.8% against 2018 – PHOTO: VNA

Statistics from the Vietnam Association of Motorcycle Manufacturers (VAMM) indicate that in 2019, five members of VAMM, Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki, Piaggio and SYM, sold a combined 3.3 million motorbikes of all types, down 131,130 units, or 3.8% against 2018.

After the strong rise in consumption of motorbikes in the 2017-2018 period, the motorcycle market showed signs of a slowdown.

Last year, Vietnamese customers purchased over 8,910 motorbikes each day, falling by 359 units from the 2018 figure.

Some experts attributed the decline in consumption of motorbikes last year to worsening air pollution and traffic jams mainly caused by the large number of motorbikes on roads.

Besides this, the emergence of electric motorbikes and the strong growth of the automobile market contributed to the fall in motorbike consumption last year.

The purchase of motorcycles is expected to continue to decline in the coming months, some experts noted.

However, sales of motorbikes in 2019 could have been higher than the figure released by VAMM as, in addition to VAMM members, the local market supported 10 other motorbike distributors and tens of motorcycle trading firms.

These firms mainly imported motorbikes from Thailand, China, Indonesia and India. Aside from this, VinFast bikes were put up for sale on the local market in 2019.

Scooters, currently holding a market share of 45% in Vietnam, have become popular among Vietnamese customers, according to motorcycle trading firms. As such, many major motorcycle manufacturers such as Yamaha and Honda have focused on renewing and renovating their scooter models.

Despite the slowdown in motorbike consumption, Vietnam still takes the fourth position in the world for motorcycle consumption, after India, China and Indonesia, according to statistics from MotorCycles Data. SGT