Honda determined to keep 70% share of motorcycle market forecast to hit

Overall motorcycle sales reached 1.1 million units in the first six months of the year, a 2-per-cent increase from the same period last year.
 Honda achieved 763,000 unit sales in the first half, slightly down from the 765,000 posted in the same period last year.
 Suchart Arunsaengroj, director of AP Honda, yesterday said that the motorcycle market in June had not been as vigorous as expected. A total of 204,258 units were sold in the month, down 8 per cent year on year.
 However, Honda’s AT model has maintained its leadership of the automatic-gear market with a 50-per-cent share among largely younger consumers, who now have much higher purchasing power.
 Honda achieved a 70-per-cent share of overall motorcycle sales in June, with 142,317 units registered.
 “We saw significant growth in the local motorcycle market of between 4 and 5 per cent in July alone,” said Suchart.
 Growth of motorcycle sales has been spurred by a host of positive economic factors, including gross domestic product, which is projected to increase by between 5.5 and 6.5 per cent this year, as well as exports, which are expected to rise by 15 per cent. Private consumption is also projected to increase this year, by 4.4 per cent.
 The executive said AP Honda had been proactive, with eight new motorcycle models launched over the first six months.
 “We believe that if the local political situation and the economic situation are unchanged, we will see overall motorcycle sales hit a record level this year, with 2.1 million units to sold, up 4 per cent over last year. We ourselves want to maintain our 70-per-cent market share with [a targeted] 1.5 million units sold during the year,” he added.
 AP Honda posted 1.38 million unit sales last year, while the overall motorcycle market recorded about 2 million sales, up from 1.8 million units in 2010.