Motorcycle sales hit new record

MOTORCYCLE sales zoomed to a record last year, according to the Motorcycle Development Program Participants Association Inc. (MDPPA). Ma. Sheryl Santos, MDPPA secretary general, told The Manila Times that the sales of the group’s six member-companies last year totaled 759,849 units—the industry’s highest so far and 19.1 percent more than the 637,792 units sold in 2009.

If the sales of the importers of mostly Chinese brands were included, the industry sales figure could be higher by between 10 percent and 15 percent, Santos said.

She said domestic assemblers accounted for between 85 percent and 90 percent of sales.

Last year’s record sales were driven mainly by election spending and easier access to financing, the executive said.

Also, there is an increasing effort among motorcycle sellers to advertise their products. “You can see celebrities being tapped as endorsers in print and TV ads,” Santos said.

MDPPA is projecting sales this year to grow 15 percent to about 874,000 units.

Despite record sales, the local market is still relatively small compared with neighbors Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia and Vietnam, Santos said. –BEN ARNOLD O. DE VERA, Manila Times