Scooter market turns active ahead of Tet

Many motorcycle dealers in HCMC have received increasing orders for scooters although the Lunar New Year holiday, or Tet, has more than a week to go.

Demand for scooters has grown strongly ahead of Tet, motorcycle traders said. It is noticeable that motorcycle dealerships in the city had posted up signs that read “No more for sale” or “Available but higher prices”.

Scooters are greatly sought after in the city at the moment, so their already-high prices are even higher than on normal days. On the best-seller list are Air Blade and SH 150 of Honda Vietnam, Nouvo 135 LX of Yamaha Vietnam and Kymco Like of Hoa Lam Kymco.

Supply of Honda’s Air Blade FI, a hot favorite of Vietnamese consumers, fails to meet demand. Honda’s suggested retail price of this scooter model is some VND32 million per unit but unauthorized resellers quote it at VND40-42 million.

Busy motorcycle outlets on An Duong Vuong Street in District 5 on Thursday sold an Air Blade FI made by Honda Vietnam for VND43.5 million per unit, including VAT and registration fees.

A salesman said other motorcycle outlets on the street also quoted the same price for the Air Blade FI, so buyers could not bargain.

An authorized Honda dealer on Nguyen Trai Street in HCMC’s District 1 said business last month grew strongly compared to the final months of 2009, and that sales, especially of Air Blade scooters, were also picking up this month.

Do Nhu My, head manager of this Honda dealer, said many people had recently come to place orders for Air Blade FI and Lead scooters, but she had been unable to take them all.

My said she had received more than 100 orders for the Air Blade at a price of some VND39 million per unit, inclusive of VAT and registration fees, but it would take two to three weeks to deliver because Honda Vietnam was running at full capacity but its supply was not enough to meet demand.

As a favorite motorcycle brand, Honda brought about an instant fever on the market after launching Air Blade and Lead scooters.

The company said it could not scale up production as its factory in the northern province of Vinh Phuc as it was already running at full capacity.

To meet the increasingly huge demand, Honda has increased its production capacity to fulfill customers’ orders, especially for the Air Blade.

Meanwhile, Kymco Like, a new scooter of Hoa Lam Kymco Motors Corp., is attracting the city’s customers. Kymco Like scooters are quoted by unauthorized resellers at VND2-2.5 million higher than the manufacturer’s original retail price of VND37 million per unit.

Nguyen Tien Sy, deputy general director of Hoa Lam Kymco Motors Corp., said his company had sold more than 6,500 Kymco Like units since this model hit the road more than a month ago. Unauthorized resellers are offering Yamaha Nouvo 135 LX of Yamaha Motor Vietnam at VND2-2.5 million per unit higher than the manufacturer’s original retail price.

The market also sees high demand for imported scooters such as Honda Air Blade, SCR and PS.

VietNamNet/SGT

Tags: Vietnam automotive, Vietnam Scooter market