Vietnam to strengthen motorbike production, export

Vietnam is intensifying production and export of motorbikes, their components and spare parts to meet 95 percent of the domestic demand for the vehicle by 2015, according to the country's Industry Ministry Wednesday.

Under a draft strategy on developing the local motorbike industry by 2015 recently submitted to the government by the ministry, the industry will satisfy 90 percent of the domestic demand for motorbikes, produce at least 90 percent of their components and spare parts, and 95 percent of parts of the vehicle 's engines in 2010.

Vietnam is also expected to export 450,000-500,000 motorbikes and their spare parts worth 300 million U.S. dollars between 2006 and 2010 to such markets as Southeast Asia, Latin America, Africa and the Middle East, and establish motorbike research and development centers before 2010.

Under the draft, the country also plans to meet 95 percent of the domestic demand, and manufacture over 95 percent of components and spare parts in 2015. It eyes motorbike export turnovers of some 500 million dollars in 2011-2015 period.

Local industry insiders estimated that Vietnam consumes 1.2-1.3 million motorbikes each year, and the figure will annually increase by, on average, 9.2-9.9 percent between 2006 and 2010. They said motorbikes with Chinese origin will sell well in rural areas from now to 2010, and those with Japanese and Taiwanese origin will dominate the Vietnamese market after 2010.

Now, Vietnam houses 52 motorbike producers and assemblers, including 22 state-owned, 23 non-state and seven foreign-invested enterprises, with combined annual capacity of 3.13 million units, according to Vietnam's Bicycle and Motorbike Association.

Local producers and assemblers have total annual capacity of some 1.4 million motorbikes, and foreign-invested ones 1.73 million units. Besides, the country has nearly 200 domestic enterprises specializing in producing motorbike spare parts.

Vietnam earned over 50 million dollars from exporting nearly 100,000 motorbikes, components and spare parts in 2005, the association said. Honda Vietnam Company alone exported nearly 73, 000 low-cost motorbikes and over 17,000 engines to neighbor countries in the year.

Source: Xinhua