The global market for motorcycles (Part 1): India accounts for one-third of the global market
A summary of markets in India, China, Indonesia, Thailand, and other ASEAN nations
2017/06/07
- Summary
- Global motorcycle demand and production volume
- India: Production and sales see steady increase after surviving the negative impact of the devaluation of high-denomination bills
- China: Production volume of motorcycles in 2016 declines for fifth consecutive year, falls below 15 million units
- Indonesia: Sales in 2016 decline by 8.5% to 5.93 million units due to the economic downturn, but rebound to over 6.1 million units expected in 2017
- Thailand: Sales in 2016 increase for first time in four years by 4.0% to 1.74 million units, continued growth projected for 2017
- (Reference) Production and Sales in Vietnam, the Philippines, and Malaysia
Summary
This report will give an overview of major motorcycle producing countries around the world. The first half of the report will focus on major producers such as China, India, Indonesia, and Thailand. The latter half will summarize the current situation in Brazil, Taiwan, Pakistan, Japan, Europe, and the U.S.
Global demand for motorcycles in 2016 decreased for the third consecutive year by 1.6% year-over-year (y/y) to 51.77 million units (data from Yamaha). This was the result of a double-digit sales decline in the Chinese, Indonesian, and Brazilian markets in 2016, continuing a trend from 2015. While sales in China exceeded 17 million units (2009) during their peak, they fell below 8 million units for the period, decreasing 12.0% y/y to 7.99 million units.
Sales in India, the largest market for motorcycles, declined as a result of the devaluation of high-denomination bills in November 2016. However, as the economy is strong, sales for the full year 2016 reached 17.64 million units, a 9.6% y/y increase.
In Indonesia, unit sales in 2016 decreased by 14.0% from the previous year to 5.56 million units (aggregated by Yamaha), recording the lowest level in seven years. This was caused by an economic slump and decline in consumer demand accompanying falling prices for resources. At the same time, sales in Thailand for 2016 increased 3.9% from the previous year to 1.74 million units, rising for the first time in four years.
Yamaha expects that global demand for motorcycles in 2017 will increase 2.1% y/y to 52.87 million units (as of February 2017). While demand is projected to continue declining in China and Brazil, it is forecast to pick back up in Indonesia for the first time in four years, rising 2.6% y/y to 5.7 million units. Demand in the Indian market is expected to continue to increase by 7.7% y/y to 19 million units.
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Related Reports: The global market for motorcycles
Part 1: India leads global production and sales (Aug. 2016)
Part 2: Brazil market declines, recovery in Europe (Aug. 2016)
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