Taiwan Motorcycles Market is steady in 2024. Following the previous year’s boom, in the first five months of the year total sales have been 313,702 (-2.0%).
Taiwan’s motorcycle industry trend and perspectives
The Taiwanese motorcycle market, the 12th largest globally, is often called the “kingdom of motorcycles”, with hundreds of thousands on the road at any given time. Despite being open to imports, it is dominated by domestic manufacturers like Kymco and SYM, who compete for market leadership alongside several local electric scooter producers. The combined market share of Kymco, SYM, and Yamaha Taiwan, which are mainly gasoline vehicles, is above 80％, while Gogoro alone dominates the electric market.
Following the 2022 decline, in 2023 the market scored a robust recovery with sales at 871.734 (+14.8%).
After such big performance, in 2024 the demand is lower, and sales are steady. Indeed, after the first five months of the year, total sales have been 313,702 (-2.0%), a slight improvement from the -4.1% of the first quarter.
Half of the decline is driven by the motorcycle segment (-38.1%) while the scooter lost just 1.0%. The scooters’ segment is by an order of magnitude larger than that of motorcycles, which are only around 2% of the total.
The electric motorcycle market is currently experiencing significant challenges. The L1 category is down 15.7%, and the L3 segment has dropped by 44.2% compared to last year. However, the rise in electric L1 sales offsets some of the L3 losses, leading to an overall decline of -16.7% in the electric category.
Market leaders and performance
Looking at the competitive arena, in the duel among local giants, SYM further gained sales, marking a +1.2% while the rival Kymco gained 7.6%. SYM has extended its own incentive initiative through 2024, introducing an additional NT$2,000 subsidy aimed at sustaining and enhancing sales momentum.
Behind them, confirm their previous trends, Yamaha (-9.9%), Gogoro (-12.6%), Suzuki (+37.6%) and PGO (-14.7%).
Taiwan’s motorcycle industry overview
Taiwan’s motorcycle industry focuses on manufacturing scooters as well as motorcycles with large-displacement engines, targeting markets in Europe and North America. This strategy contrasts with the Chinese industry, which primarily produces smaller engine motorcycles for developing countries. Overall, the Taiwanese motorcycle industry is poised for continued growth, driven by its strong manufacturing base, strategic partnerships, and heavy investments electric mobility.
