Motorbike sales in Vietnam have dropped by 25-30 percent in recent months, but the domestic market for the vehicle has yet to saturate.

The Naintranco motorbike firm sells, on average, 1,000 vehicles each month over the past few months, down more than 10 percent against the same period last year. The sales of many other motorbike assemblers and producers in Vietnam are also on the decline, with the highest drop of 50 percent.

Many companies attributed the shrinking sales to motorbike saturation in many localities, especially big cities, while purchasing power in rural areas is still weak, partly because of the growing petroleum prices.

However, some officials from the Vietnam Bicycle and Motorbike Association said the domestic market has yet to saturate, given that 6.5 Vietnamese residents currently own a motorbike, while the rate is two in China's Taiwan and four in Thailand.

To cope with the sluggish sales, association members, including 10 firms with annual production capacity of 10,000 motorbikes, and some others with capacity of 3,000-5,000 vehicles, are improving their products' quality, launching new models with lower prices, and intensifying promotion.

As of October 2004, Vietnam with a population of over 82 million, has granted some 14 million driving licenses, including 13 million for motorists and nearly 920,000 for automobile drivers.

Source: Xinhua