Analysis and Outlook of the Global Motorcycle and Scooter Market

The main global motorcycle and scooter market is concentrated in Asia

The world's top 10 motorcycle and scooter markets are in order: China, India, Indonesia, Vietnam, Brazil, Thailand, the Philippines, the United States, Pakistan, and Taiwan, that is, 8 countries are located in Asia. The main growth momentum of global motorcycle and scooters is concentrated in developing countries such as China, Southeast Asia, Africa, and Latin America.

• Europe:
  The European motorcycle and scooter market has become saturated, coupled with the debt crisis in the euro area, and future growth is limited. Under the influence of the global financial turmoil in 2009, market sales declined sharply. In 2010, the main sales markets were Italy, France, Spain, Germany, and the United Kingdom. Although many European countries proposed several economic revitalization plans, they were affected by countries such as Greece and Spain. The bond crisis has affected the euro area, sales are still weak, and future growth will not be large.
• Americas:
  The growth momentum of motorcycle and scooter sales in the Americas comes from emerging countries in Latin America. In 2008, the United States was affected by sub-prime mortgages and its market sales dropped by 1/3. Although it is still in the top 10 domestic sales in the world, its influence is declining year by year. The market is mainly streetcars. Brazil in Central and South America has gradually grown its motorcycle and scooter market in recent years and has already surpassed the United States to become the world's fifth-largest market. In addition, Brazil is actively investing in infrastructure construction and has great potential for future development.
• Asia:
  Asia is the world’s largest motorcycle and scooter market with rapid development expected in the future. In 2010, China’s economic growth rate was 10.3%. Strong domestic demand drove overall economic growth, but it did not affect motorcycle and scooter sales. China’s annual sales volume exceeds 27 million vehicles. India, and Indonesia hold second and third places in global sales. These countries, together with Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines, and other Asian countries, account for nearly 90% of the world market. With the economy of Southeast Asia growing, the motorcycle and scooter market will continue to grow as well.
• Taiwan:
  The domestic market has become saturated. The number of motorcycles and scooters in Taiwan is about 1.6 per person, that means the average person owns more than one motorcycle or scooter. Therefore, in recent years, manufacturers have gradually devoted themselves to expanding export sales. In 2010, the export ratio was 47.2%; with the main export regions being Southeast Asia (44.58%) and Europe (43.88%).

Characteristics of the global motorcycle and scooter industry

Due to the complexity of the motorcycle and scooter markets, the industry has been focusing on the following: providing good customer service, reducing pollution, improving technology and mass production methods, research and development, and technical cooperation. Compared with other industries, there are many motorcycle and scooter parts projects, and the technologies required for production are broadly similar to those of automobiles. Therefore, the motorcycle and scooter industry is a high-tech intensive industry. To pursue production efficiency, manufacturers often adopt the automated systems to reduce costs.

Although the motorcycle and scooter industry has entered a mature stage in developed countries, overall, in response to the changes of the times, the motorcycle and scooter industry has actively developed new products and used various possible technological innovations to increase the utilization rate of motorcycle and scooters. It is still under continuous development.

The competitive situation of the global motorcycle and scooter industry

The global motorcycle and scooter market is dominated by motorcycles. Motorcycles and scooters originated in Europe and the United States. In the early days, the leading manufacturers of the global motorcycle and scooter industry were mainly in Europe and the United States. However, after the Second World War, Japanese motorcycle and scooter manufacturers took advantage of the rise in demand, and the suitability of motorcycles and scooters use in developing countries, to gradually become a global leader. The Asia-Pacific region is currently the world's largest motorcycle and scooter market. Motorcycles and scooters are easy to use, suitable for a wide range of roads, have cargo capacity, and do not take up space. Therefore, the product application range is wide. In emerging countries, motorcycles and scooters are mostly used for commuting and cargo; In developed countries, motorcycles and scooters are considered for leisure and competition purposes and for commuting for young people.

The motorcycle and scooter industry is capital and technology-intensive. Industry-related developments need to consider obvious international competition and cooperation, as well as social costs. Government laws, per capita income, transportation infrastructure, and other factors will affect the development of the motorcycle and scooter industry. In developed countries, barriers to entry are high and barriers to imitation are high. However, in developing countries, due to the short time of industrial development and the people’s inadequate awareness of intellectual property rights, barriers to entry are low and barriers to imitation are low. The design of the best-selling model is easy to be copied and remade.

The main competitors in terms of motorcycle and scooter production and export are developing countries such as China, India, Thailand, Indonesia in Asia; Brazil and Colombia in Central and South America; and Slovenia and Turkey in Eastern Europe. In terms of technology export, the main competitors in the industry are Italy, Spain, Germany, Japan, the United States.

On the whole, potential competitors in the motorcycle and scooter industry can be divided into two major categories: domestic sales and foreign sales. In terms of domestic sales, in various countries, potential competitors in the motorcycle and scooter industry are mainly industry-related companies, such as vehicle manufacturers, component manufacturers or other companies interested in the motorcycle and scooter industry etc. For the future of the export market, as economies grow and the demand for motorcycles and scooters gradually increases, developing countries or low-developed countries will invest in production. The international motorcycle and scooter industry will see potential competitors in the future.

Looking at all markets worldwide, few European markets experienced growth in 2017. Growth rates in Italy and France were close to flat. In Germany, Spain, and the United Kingdom, markets all declined in 2017. Brazil, the major market in the Americas, has been affected by the economic downturn in recent years.

Asia is a major motorcycle and scooter production center in the world. In addition to India, China, and Indonesia, which account for the top 3 in global sales, Vietnam, Thailand, Pakistan, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, and other places total more than 90%. With the economic growth of Southeast Asia, the market is expected to continue to grow.

In the development of product trends, motorcycles and scooters will move toward environmental protection and energy conservation, but government policy support and whether manufacturers can introduce prices acceptable to consumers will affect the pace of development of environmentally friendly and energy-saving motorcycles and scooters.

Under the control of environmental protection regulations, the motorcycle and scooter industry is concentrating on developing electric motorcycles and scooters. However, the development of electric motorcycles and scooters is relatively slow due to the bottleneck of battery research and development and manufacturing costs, but future development is still highly anticipated.