Bike sales riding on low cost
Published:Sunday | January 9, 2011 | 12:00 AM
Avia Collinder, Business Writer
The most expensive motorcycles in Jamaica sell for close to $2 million.The cheap ones, scooters, range as low as $130,000, but while this counts as a more affordable ride, the sales performance of the two-wheelers has fallen in the recession. But there are signs of an uptick.
There are some 80,000 registered bikes on the roads. Annual sales are hard to track because of how the market is configured, but dealers say the traditional Japanese brands are now duking it out for local market dominance over cheaper Chinese imports.
Car dealer Kingston Industrial Garage (KIG) entered the market last year as a Yamaha dealer. The terms of the contract were not disclosed, but it was inked in February and the company began selling the Japanese-made units over the summer.
Sales manager at KIG, Richard Reid, told Sunday Business that most sales within its subdealer network were from the western parishes where tourist rental and taxi bikes are commonplace.
Motorbikes are particularly popular in Hanover and Westmoreland where up to two pillion riders are taken by taxi bikes to areas where cars cannot go.
The KIG dealership, Reid noted, had invested what he described as significant sums in its biking business and would be bringing in more Yamahas with flat seats ideal for the taxi service.
Those and scooter bikes for the rental trade in tourist areas would be on hand by the end of the first quarter of the year, said Reid.
KIG joins Stewart's Auto Sales and Von's as the principal bike retailers, but the established sellers are increasingly facing stiff competition from companies and individuals engaged in the importation of cheaper brands mainly from China.
Head of the Automobile Dealers Association, Kent Lacroix, says no licence is required for the importation of motorcycles, which explains, he said, why so many different brands appear in the island.
In 2008, 2,982 units came in from China; 1,681 in 2009; and an estimated 2,200 units in 2010. Lacroix said no figures were available for units imported from other countries during the period.
A total 80,000 motor bikes have been registered for use in Jamaica since 1987.
Clifford Williams of Stewart's Auto Sales, dealers in Honda bikes - a Japanese brand - says the motorbike as a mode of personal transport is favoured by men in the 18-50 age group.
"There are very few female riders as there is a perception that this is a male domain," said Williams, who is manager for Stewart's bike division.
Reid, who insists KIG's investment in Yamaha will pay off, says the brand is one to which all categories of buyers aspire. The salesman said that even persons who bought Chinese bikes used the Yamaha and Honda parts as bikes from the Asian subcontinent often came with a maximum of only two months' warranty and a deficit of replacement parts.
Stewart's is new to the bike sales business, having taken over the Honda dealership last year when it acquired the assets of the Issa Transport Group in March.
Diane Stewart said Issa Transport sold 482 bikes in 2008 and 440 in 2009. Sales in 2010 were 180 following the takeover.
The price of the Honda two-wheelers ranges from $159,000 to $1.9 million. KIG's prices range up to $1.7 million.
New niche
Reid says the bike market is seeing green shoots among a new niche - professionals - whose growing interest is a by-product of waning patience with the increasingly congested streets of the Kingston Metropolitan Area and a dislike for being stuck in traffic.
But technicians and tradesmen offering services, who find it convenient to operate motorcycles for speedy movement, are still the main market.
"For bearer/messenger services, most companies find it necessary to utilise motorcycles in their operations for speedy turnaround time," said Reid.
"For small businesses such as restaurants and pharmacies, for delivery purposes, motorcycles are an integral part of service delivery. The agriculture sector also finds motorcycles useful in the farming operations."
Reid says that companies providing security services mainly utilise the 250cc units in their fleet for response. The Jamaica Constabulary Force, the Island Special Constabulary Force, and the Jamaica Defence Force operate large fleets for patrol and response.