Asian Motorcycle Sales in 2020: India Drops 23.2% But Remains the Largest Market in the World

In 2020, motorcycle sales fell 23.2% year-on-year in the world’s largest market India and 30.1% in ASEAN (six countries: Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore). Although there are some differences regarding the impact of COVID-19, the market shrank significantly across the board. Meanwhile in Taiwan, which largely avoided the pandemic, sales increased 14.8%, surpassing 1 million units. Sales in India declined 23.2% to 14.27 million units. In the Indian motorcycle market, sales were already declining in 2019 due to economic slowdown and rising vehicle prices triggered by tightening regulations. Major manufacturers such Hero MotoCorp and Honda dropped 20-30%.

In ASEAN, despite the implementation of strict measures to keep the virus from spreading in Indonesia and the Philippines, both countries saw sharp decline in sales. Especially Indonesia, which is the largest motorcycle market in the region, suffered the most severe decline, falling 43.6% to 3.66 million units. In addition to restrictions triggered by COVID-19, stricter loan criteria also added to the sharp drop in sales. Vietnam fell 16.7% to 2.71 million units and Thailand decreased 11.8% to 1.52 million units. Although both countries dropped double digits, their rate of decline was lower than that of Indonesia. Taiwan increased 14.8% to 1.04 million units, a significant increase from the previous year. Demand has been boosted by the government’s subsidies program for replacing old vehicles with gasoline vehicles that comply with Taiwan’s Phase 7 emission regulations (equivalent to Euro 5). As a result, sales spiked to the level of the latter half of the 1990s when annual sales surpassed 1 million units.