Kwang Yang Motor Co (
The bikes have already proven market ready with the company shipping over 19,000 units abroad, mainly to Europe, over the last two years.
As for world-class brands such as Harley-Davison of the US and Kawasaki of Japan, big-bike enthusiasts may need to wait until early next year before they hit the road, a Kwang Yang executive said yesterday.
PHOTO: GEORGE TSORNG, TAIPEI TIMES
"Since imported brands still need to get through some government red tape on licensing and emission rules, they may not appear on the market until January or February," said Wang Son-chien (
Kwang Yang bikes have already passed Taiwan's emission and noise tests conducted by the Environmental Protection Administration, he said.
Taiwan outlawed the importation, use and registration of bikes larger then 125cc in 1982. But following the nation's accession into WTO earlier this year, three major motorcycle manufacturers -- Kwang Yang, Sanyang Industrial Co (
According to the Ministry of Economic Affairs, it is estimated that domestic demand for larger bikes will reach around 20,000 units annually, with total sales of between NT$3 billion and NT$4 billion.
"But because of new government regulations which ban bigger bikes from operating on highways and in car-only lanes, we predict that demand will reach only 12,000 units a year," Wang said.
If the government scraps the road-use regulation, the demand for bigger bikes may surge up to 30,000 units a year, Wang said.
Kwang Yang expects to grab at least a 30-percent share of the domestic market, on sales of 30 bikes a month or more, he said.
In addition, Kwang Yang is in talks with Harley-Davison and Kawasaki in an effort to import their 450cc-and-above bikes into Taiwan, spokesman Chen Fu-an (陳福安) said.
Sanyang is also in talks with Harley, according to company spokesman Yeh Feng-ming (葉峰明).
"We are discussing being the general sales agent for Harley-Davison, but we are also in talks with Aprilia [motorcycles] of Italy."
Sanyang is currently conducting noise and emisson tests on its bigger bikes and is planning to launch a 180cc model sometime in September, Yeh said.
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