Taiwan Motorcycles Market boomed in April. The 2025 start was negative again with first quarter sales down 6.2%. However, in April the market rebounded (+46.1%) and year to date sales have been 267.173 (+7.3%). Gogoro struggles and could be near the end.
Economic Outlook
Taiwan’s gross domestic product (GDP) grew 4.30 percent in 2024, a three-year high, after the country reported the better-than-expected economic growth in the fourth quarter.
Taiwan’s GDP growth in 2024 topped the previous estimate of 4.2% made in November to reach 4.3%, the highest level since 2021 when the country’s economy grew 6.7%.
Private consumption in the fourth quarter grew 1.94 percent, about 0.3%, higher than the previous estimate, while government consumption rose 2.2% percent.
Motorcycles Industry Trend and Perspectives
Taiwanese motorcycle market, the 12th largest globally, is often called the “kingdom of motorcycles”, with hundreds of thousands on the road at any given time.
Despite being open to imports, it is dominated by domestic manufacturers Kymco and SYM, who compete for market leadership alongside several local electric scooter producers. The combined market share of Kymco, SYM, and Yamaha Taiwan, which are mainly gasoline vehicles, is above 80％, while Gogoro alone dominates the electric market.
The market is mature and very sensitive to economic trends and government incentive scheme, resulting in a wavering trends in the last years.
The country was among the first to adopt incentives schemes for EVs, which allowed a very rapid segment growth already before the 2020, with the born of local companies like Gogoro. However, when incentives were cut, the EVs segment declined. creating concern among manufacturers and consumers.
Following the sharp -16.2% reported in 2024, the start of the current year was negative again with first quarter sales down 6.2%. However, in April the market rebounded (+46.1%) and year to date April sales have been 267.173 (+7.3%).
The electric segment is currently experiencing significant challenges. The L1 category is down 43.4%, and the L3 segment grew up 63.9% compared to the previous year.
Market Leaders and Performance
Looking at the competitive arena, in the duel among local giants just minor changes last year with the leader SYM gaining 14.8% and the reval Kymco up 14.2%.
Behind, all OEMs lost sales with Yamaha (-2.0%).
In fourth place one of the world pioneer in the electric segment, Gogoro which is losing 46.3% and which is now at risk of bankruptcy, having eroded most of the available cash while not growing the business.
In fifth place a well performing Suzuki (+18.5%), followed by the leader of importers, Honda (-2.8%).
