Sales of motorcycles are sharply plunging even though agents in
partnership with manufacturers are rushing to launch a vast array of
promotions, including supporting registration fees for buyers or pulling the
prices down.
At Honda Vietnam (HVN), the
country’s largest motorcycle maker, it is unlikely that the target set by
former general director Koji Onishi to sell about 2.3 million vehicles this
year will be realized. It is nearly undeniable when Koji’s successor, Masayuki
Igarashi, admitted that his company has no other choice but to lower the target
due to poor demands since the year’s beginning.
HVN has two factories in the
northern province of Vinh Phuc with total output of two million units annually,
which produced 2.15 million units in 2011. Now it has had to revise down the
production plan for 2012 to a mere 1.93 million.
According to Igarashi, the
current stagnant business is threatening the future of the third plant HVN is
constructing in Ha Nam Province. Now the plant is still constructed and targeted
to be completed on schedule but when it will be put into operation is still
unknown.
In fact, large numbers of
distributors of HVN in HCM City complained the newly-adjusted target is still
higher than actual trading situation at their shops. A large agent owner of HVN
revealed sales at his stores have plummeted by half over the past few months,
resulting in high inventories, although HVN has actively given supports to his
stores to woo customers.
Since the middle of May, HVN had
launched a promotion to give gift vouchers worth 888,000 dong to buyers of
PGM-FI vehicles. It has continued stimulating local demands by paying all
registration fees for Air Blade buyers until late next month.
In recent times, HVN has shifted
to offering gift vouchers worth 888,000 dong to buyers of Wave 110S, Wave RS
and vouchers worth 2 million dong to PCX purchasers until the middle of
September. Regardless of this, the firm has seen no improvements in it sales
performance so far.
Likewise, other motorbike
producers are also suffering the same headache. They have joined the race to
entice customers with various supporting forms but they are still unable to
pull themselves out of the somber business as expected.
For instance, Piaggio Vietnam at
first promised to pay all registration fees for buyers of Vespa LX i.e and
Vespa S e.i from the middle of March to the middle of April. Now the enterprise
is offering 4 million dong to buyers of Vespa LX and 3 million dong to Fly
purchasers.
Similarly, Suzuki is trying to
lure clients with registration fee payment for buyers of Hayate 125.
Under the current climate, all
motorbike manufactures shared the view that they are forced to sell a number of
products at the prices below the levels announced earlier. Several dealers said
they must accept losses or inconsiderable profits, from 300,000-500,000 dong
each, when doing so but it is still better than doing nothing and seeing
inventories ballooning.
PCX scooters are now priced at
some 53.5 million dong a unit compared to HVN’s list price of 59 million dong
and Lead products at around 34.5-35.5 million dong a unit compared to the
35.5-36.5 million dong set by the maker.
Most agents attributed the
sluggish business to the on-going economic slump. They predicted the situation
will continue in the coming months, especially in July and August.
The combined production output of
all motorcycle manufacturers in the country is set to reach five million
products a year by 2015, but given the current business tempo, it is estimated
that total sales by then should reach between only 3 million and 3.5 million
products, meaning manufacturers will have to boost exports in the coming time.
Saigon Times
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