Major makers of motorcycles and motor-scooters in Taiwan are optimistic about their export prospects this year, and some of them are planning to expand their production lines and hire more workers to cope with a surge in orders from abroad.

Kwang Yang Motor Co. (which uses the KYMCO brand), the largest powered two-wheeler (PTW) manufacturer on the island, plans to introduce a series of new and different products in order to boost sales this year. The new offerings will include electric scooters for the aged as well as 50cc and 125cc all-terrain vehicle (ATV) models. The company expects to sell more than 90,000 PTWs and ATVs in the domestic and export markets this year.

Kwang Yang is doing so well, in fact, that it has given its employees a 3% salary hike this year, implying that its operations were profitable in 2002 and that further improvement is expected this year.



The company reports that it has received export orders for over 10,000 PTWs and ATVs so far this year, and that domestic sales are also stable. To meet the growing demand, another 60 workers will be added to production lines at Kwang Yang's plant in Kaohsiung County, southern Taiwan.

In the local PTW market, the company will introduce a step-up model, the V-Link 125cc scooter, to replace its current mainstay model, the Jockey. The new model is expected to give a strong boost to sales in the second quarter and, especially, during the summer-vacation period in the third quarter.

More of the predicted sales increase will come from ATVs, which the company began making on an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) basis in mid-2002 with a 150cc model. The introduction of 50cc and 125cc models this year will expand the firm's ATV-product range.

The emerging high-margin market for electric scooters for seniors and the physically challenged is another niche that Kwang Yang wants to tap. It will soon unveil several electric models aimed at the U.S. and European markets.

Another leading PTW maker on the island, Her Chee Industrial Co. (which markets its products under the Adly brand), boosted its sales to a record high of more than 25,000 units last year with a successful incursion into the ATV sector. Her Chee predicts growth of at least 10% in sales this year, and it too gave its employees a 3% salary boost recently.

To consolidate its position in the international ATV contract-production industry, the company will debut a 300cc model in the second quarter of 2003. This model, which is aimed at the American and European markets, will be the heaviest made-in-Taiwan ATV model ever. Her Chee hopes that its powerful engine will attract users in both the recreational and agricultural/industrial sectors.

The company has also been working hard to diversify into electric vehicles, and plans to demonstrate several electric-scooter models for the recreational and medical-equipment markets before the end of the year.