The production value of Taiwan’s motorcycles and motorcycle spare parts in the first quarter of this year continued to grow, after hitting record highs in 2019 and last year, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday.
In the first quarter, output value reached NT$35.6 billion (US$1.29 billion), up 16 percent annually, due mainly to robust exports of gasoline-powered motorcycles and electric scooters, the ministry said in a report.
The motorcycle and spare parts industry’s output value reached record highs of NT$122 billion and NT$132.4 billion in 2019 and last year respectively, ministry data showed.
Photo: CNA
From 2012 to last year, production value grew by an average annual rate of 5.2 percent.
The main products in the industry were gasoline-powered motorcycles and scooters, followed by spare parts, e-bicycles and e-scooters, the report said, adding that production of emission-free e-scooters rose rapidly due to growing environmental consciousness and the rise of athleisure trends.
In the first quarter, the production value of gasoline-powered motorcycles and scooters rose 27.8 percent year-on-year, while that of e-scooters grew 29.8 percent, the largest growth among all product categories, the report showed.
However, sales of e-scooters plunged 60.8 percent year-on-year in the first quarter due to falling international oil prices and reduced government subsidies for purchases of e-scooters, it said.
Japan was the No. 1 destination for Taiwan’s motorcycle and spare parts exports before 2013, whereas from 2014 to 2018, the exports mainly went to the US, data compiled by the Ministry of Finance showed.
In the past few years, Taiwan’s motorcycle and spare parts have mainly gone to the Netherlands, the data showed.
Exports of motorcycle and spare parts to the Netherlands last year reached US$480 million, up 29.8 percent from a year earlier, while its exports to the US were about US$400 million, up 20.7 percent year-on-year, the data showed.
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