The market is controlled by two big players

The Vietnamese motorbike market is controlled by two big players – Honda and Yamaha from Japan. 

Suzuki, one of the four biggest Japanese manufacturers, was once a favorite brand in Vietnam with Viva, FX, RGV, Avenis and Epicuro trademarks.

Analysts say that Suzuki is creating a market segment for its products. 

The Japanese brand focuses on clutch models for men such as Axelo, GD110HU, Raider and GZ150. The models it distributes are different in design and prices in comparison with products of other big manufacturers, and target different clients. 

Suzuki also manufactures scooters with Impulse and Address brands, but they’re not popular with women.

Piaggio has positioned itself in the high-end market with products different from the rest of the market. 

However, since Honda began paying more attention to exploit the high-end market with the SH model, the market share held by the Italian manufacturer has been affected.

Even the birth of the Medley model could not save Piaggio’s market share. The manufacturer has to market the domestically assembled GTS 125/300 with competitive price with Honda SH.

SYM, the Taiwanese brand, which once had golden days with scooter models Elizabeth and Attila a decade ago, now has to struggle to find customers. The manufacturer is focusing more on 50cc products such as Elegant/Angela motorbike, Elite scooter and electrical EV Elite.

Most recently, SYM launched the Husky 125 Classic which competes directly with Suzuki GD110HU and imports such as Yamaha YB125 and Honda CG125.

Kymco of Taiwan has special models such as Like 50, a small scooter for students and older people who can drive motorbikes without a driving license, or K-Pipe, which has cylinder capacity of 50 cc, but a design like big-cylinder models.

The decision by manufacturers to focus on the 50 cc market segment has helped SYM and Kymco gain advantages in protecting brands and maintaining sales. 

Meanwhile, both Honda and Yamaha do not have 50 cc products which have reasonable prices to fit customers in the market segment. 

Honda Zoomer and Yamaha Zuma are not cheap and have only a few importers to satisfy demand of connoisseurs.

In related news, Hanoi is struggling to curb the development of cars and motorcycles, which is believed to be the major reason behind serious air pollution in the city. It plans to strictly control motorbikes in 2018 and prohibit them in inner city areas by 2030.

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Mai Chi