Motorcycle Taiwan 2008 Has Ample Power to Roar Ahead

The 3rd Taiwan International Motorcycle Industry Show (Motorcycle Taiwan 2008) held from April 9-12 in Taipei once again proved it has plenty of horsepower to spare. This year the event went into overdrive, with the number of exhibition booths surging by 30% over the previous event. Over one thousand international buyers and more than 20,000 local visitors turned out for the four-day show, according to organizer the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA).

Altogether 187 manufacturers exhibited at Motorcycle Taiwan 2008, a 13% increase over last year. They displayed their products at 481 booths, a 30% increase over the previous show. Many exhibitors said the number of visitors grew significantly over 2007. The high volume of orders placed has also led dozens of manufacturers to express their intention to participate in next year's show.

Major product categories featured at the motorcycle show included complete vehicles (motorcycles, scooters, all-terrain vehicles, electric scooters, and electric bicycles), engines and parts, vehicle frames, accessories, riding accessories, vehicle testing and inspection equipment, and noise and emissions testing equipment.

Motorcycle Taiwan 2008 was simultaneously held with two other major exhibitions, the Taipei Int'l Auto Parts & Accessories Show (Taipei AMPA 2008) and Taipei International Automobile Electronics Show (AutoTronics Taipei 2008). The triple-show event served up one of the world's most important and all-encompassing trade forums for vehicular products.

This year's fair revolved around the main theme of "New Era with a Green Earth." Four sub-themes were also highlighted: "Via-Taiwan Service," "Made by Taiwan," "Tuning & Performance Enhancing Parts," and "Big Capacity Motorcycles."

　

Booth Bookings for Motorcycle Taiwan 2008
Product Zone	No. of Exhibitors	No. of Booths
Assembled Vehicle (including ATVs, Big-capacity motorcycles, scooters etc.)	11	132
Parts & Accessories	136	260
Electric Scooters (including parts)	9	25
Manufacturing & Inspection Equipment	17	41
Media (including booths for INTERMOT of Germany and EICMA of Italy)	14	23
Total	187	481
Source: Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA)

Strong Response

Dinli Metal Industrial Co., an ATV maker, said that it touched base with buyers from Europe, the U.S., and Japan and also met with visitors from numerous emerging nations. The company arranged factory visits during the show for buyers from Central and South America, the Middle East, and Africa. Many of the foreign buyers expressed intentions to place orders.

Taiwan Golden Bee (TGB), a major Taiwanese big-bore ATV maker with a growing international reputation, also indicated that this year's show outdid the previous event and was highly conducive for doing business.

Staff of Sanyang Industry Co., Ltd. (SYM brand), one of Taiwan's top-three powered two-wheeler (PTW) makers, stated that throughout the show they were scrambling to handle a flood of inquiries from buyers, particularly from Central and South America. Sanyang stated that they also established contacts with many potential customers during the show.

EMGO International Ltd., a big PTW-parts trader with a long-term partnership with Taiwan, was a major parts exhibitor at the show. The company strengthened contacts with international visitors from Japan, Thailand, France, and Canada and received many orders. TAITRA points out that EMGO is very upbeat about their participation in next year's event.

Tong Yah Electronic Technology Co., Ltd., the largest high-end PTW tuning parts manufacturer in Taiwan, also had a bullish outlook. They were very satisfied with their results at this year's event, with many new orders to show for their efforts. "Of course we will be back next year," they told TAITRA.

Increasing Foreign Buyers

TAITRA mobilized its overseas branches to invite international buyers to Motorcycle Taiwan and the response among international buyers was very positive. TAITRA statistics indicate that 1,013 international buyers attended the show, up 30% from last year. The largest representations of foreign buyers, by nation, came from Japan, the U.S., Korea, Indonesia, and mainland China, respectively.

The buyers were very positive about Motorcycle Taiwan 2008 and the industry development in Taiwan. For example, Silverster from New Zealand, Racing Works from Australia, Motorkleding Center from the Netherlands, and Ojsc Kyiv Motorcykle Plant from the Ukraine, all praised the designs and reasonable pricing of motorcycles at this event. RK-Online from Japan further expressed that Taiwan spare parts have earned a reputation in Japan for being highly durable. That's why, they added, that Motorcycle Taiwan was the company's first choice for procurement.

TAITRA organized several major trade meetings during Motorcycle Taiwan. These meetings were joined by major international buyers, including Piaggio of Italy, heavy motorcycle manufacturer MV Agusta Motor, and Kiev Motorcycle Plant (KMZ), the largest heavy motorcycle manufacturer in the Commonwealth of Independent States, along with 30 local professionals. The 83 trade meetings held during the show are expected to generate significant downstream business, TAITRA claims.

Eye-catching Exhibits

This year's Motorcycle Taiwan brought together many renowned manufacturers. Digiking Co., Ltd., for example, showcased the famous Big Bear Choppers. This American-style handcrafted legend appeared for the first time in Taiwan. With their custom welded parts, hand-made assemblies, body detailing and tons of attitude, each unit is an eye-catching work of art.

Yamaha Motor Taiwan Co., Ltd. demonstrated four concept bikes first introduced at the Tokyo Motor Show 2007. Among them was the pricey LUXAIR, a hybrid model with hand-painted parts. Within its streamlined golden exterior is a built-in multi-channel stereo. The bike became the immediate focus of attention at the show.

The event organizer also arranged a Customized Bike Show, with more than 100 pricey imported and local customized motorcycles displayed at a special zone at the show venue. These bikes were a hit with both domestic and international motorcycle fans.

A Green Show

Motorcycle Taiwan 2008 also covered many issues related to environmental protection. With the fifth-stage emission standards for PTWs becoming effective in Taiwan in 2009, local motorcycle producers are developing environmentally friendly fuel-injection models to replace the 800,000 or so carburetor motorcycles sold each year on the island. To showcase this trend, TAITRA arranged a special primary theme area for "A New Era for a Green Earth" and Motorcycle Taiwan 2008 featured a "Fuel-Injection (FI) 5th-Stage Emissions Standard Pavilion" to highlight FI technology in Taiwan.

Industry Seminars

TAITRA invited four foreign and local industry experts to share their experiences about the PTW industry during this year's Motorcycle Taiwan.

The keynote speaker was Emil Gomez, CEO of EMGO, who spoke on the Motorcycle Market in the US. Also joining the stage were Leonardo Caputo, vice president of the Piaggio Group, who spoke about Piaggio's Asian challenge; James Wang, Director of Mechanical & System Research Laboratories (MSL) under domestic Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI), who explored light electric vehicles (LEV) development in Taiwan; and Tai-Yang Lu, president of Dinli Metal Industrial who highlighted Taiwan's ATV edge in the world market.

The four seminars were highly rated by the more than 400 participants attending.

With its rapid growth in booth occupancy and the number of visitors, Motorcycle Taiwan is emerging as the second most important import and export motorcycle industry show in Asia, only to the Tokyo Motorcycle Show, TAITRA claims. Motorcycle Taiwan 2009 is coming next year April 16-19, so save the date on your calendar.