2.17 mln motorbikes sold in 9 months

Vietnam recorded sales of 2.17 million motorbikes in the first nine months of the year, approaching the figure of 2.5 million units for the whole of last year.

The figures were compiled per data from five members - Honda, Piaggio, Yamaha, Suzuki, and SYM - major brands in the country, excluding their exports and motorbikes brought to Vietnam by importers, according to the Vietnam Association of Motorcycle Manufacturers (VAMM).

In the third quarter of this year, motorbike sales reached 762,154 units, up 207.65% year-on-year, signifying post-Covid-19 recovery.

Honda was the biggest seller in the period with 612,810 units, or 80.4% of the market share. The other four players accounted for less than 20%.

The motorbike maker attributed the achievement to the recovery of the global chip market, which suffered a shortage that pushed up scooter prices. Honda’s motorbike sales increased 26% from 198,405 in August to 250,132 in September as the chip shortage eased.

Motorbike is the dominating vehicles of road traffic in Vietnam. By end 2021, Vietnam recorded nearly 60 million gasoline/diesel-fuelled motorbikes, 1.4 million electric motorbikes, and 4.55 million cars, according to the Ministry of Transport.

The country is pushing for green traffic, with a goal of at least 50% of vehicles run on green fuel from 2030, the ministry said.