A few years ago, it looked as if Chinese motorcycles were poised to make a big impact on the Canadian market. For now, that doesn’t seem to have panned out here, but in other countries, they’re doing very better and better.
A report on Interaksyon.com says Chinese have taken massive market share from their Japanese counterparts in the Philippines. The story says the Big Four’s Philippines arms (Yamaha, Suzuki, Honda, Kawasaki) have lost 14 per cent market share, while the industry as a whole shrunk two per cent.
On the other hand, their Chinese counterparts saw 20 per cent growth, putting the Japanese down to 63 per cent market share, from 68 per cent in 2011.
The Japanese are fighting back several ways; the Big Four have gotten together, launching an advertising campaign to promote their own parts and bikes. They’re also fighting with the legal system – they’re getting the Intellectual Property Office to crack down on retailers of fake parts that are supposedly being imported from China.
According to the article, the Department of Transportation and Communication is blaming 12 per cent of the country’s vehicle accidents on substandard parts. Considering 3.8 million of the country’s 6.2 million registered vehicles are motorcycles, there’s a lot of potential for things to go wrong if people use dodgy fake parts.
I would very much like to see an actual report from the Department of Transportation and Communication regarding substandard parts.
Such a claim coming from someone that has an obvious bias really should include careful and specific reference.
Without this important piece of information, reporting or passing on such a claim could not be considered responsible.
I want this to be true, but…and no offence here, I can’t just take their word for it.
I don’t believe it was the Big Four who quoted that number, but the reporter.