Asia’s Motor Vehicle Population: India Boasts Largest Motorcycle and Automobile Ownership

Asia’s ownership volume of automobiles stood at approximately 170 million units and that of motorcycles reached around 490 million units at the end of 2019 (data cover two East Asian countries, 10 ASEAN countries and six South Asian countries, Japan and China are excluded). By the end of 2020, it is estimated that there will be about 176 million automobiles and 500 million motorcycles on the roads in Asia. Since most of the data come from emerging countries, and even if they are based on official statistics, there are many unclear areas such as automobile deregistration and vehicle type classification, so these figures may not be entirely accurate. However, the increase in ownership is steadily progressing, and it is expected to support replacement demand once the pandemic is over.

Although motor vehicle ownership in Asia continues to expand, ownership ratio (the number of vehicles owned per 1,000 people) varies from country to country. Looking at automobile ownership rate, Malaysia has become a mature market with one in two people owning a vehicle. On the other hand, in the Philippines, Vietnam and most other Southeast Asian nations the ownership rate has not reached 100 units per 1,000 people, indicating that there is still a lot of room for growth. As for motorcycle ownership rate, Taiwan is approaching 600 units per 1,000 people, while the Philippines and many other countries still have a low ownership rate.