Nothing escapes the wrath of the COVID-19 pandemic. Not even the local motorcycle industry, which had been enjoying phenomenal growth before the crisis struck.
Top Bikes Philippines was able to obtain a copy of the industry report for the first half of this year presented by the Motorcycle Development Program Participants Association (MDPPA). This group is composed of Honda, Yamaha, Kawasaki, and Suzuki, or the so-called Japanese ‘Big Four’ bike manufacturers.
During the first six months of the year when cases of COVID-19 were on the rise, the MDPPA posted total sales of 441,969 units. We were supplied the share of each manufacturer as follows:
2020 MDPPA breakdown of sales for January to June 2020
- Honda Philippines – 43.6%
- Yamaha Motor Philippines – 33.8%
- Kawasaki Philippines – 14.7 %
- Suzuki Philippines – 7.9%
In 2019, the Big Four posted sales of of 830,984 units for the first six months. Honda again led the way with 37.2% of sales, followed by Yamaha with 34.2%, Kawasaki with 15.7%, and Suzuki with 13%.
As of June 2020, then, total year-on-year sales dropped by 46.8%.
Let’s take a look at the January-to-June figures recorded by the MDPPA for the past few years, to get an idea of its growth rate. In 2014, it was 380,012, which dropped slightly to 373,834 in 2015. The upward trend continued from there, with 573,067 units in 2016, 607,580 in 2017, and 753,876 in 2018.
Considering the rising demand especially for small motorbikes these days, industry leaders are optimistic that the Big 4 will recover big time in the coming months, because domestic production and supply chains from foreign sources have started to normalize with the easing of quarantine restrictions across the globe. Do you believe so, too?
