It has been an eventful year for the motorcycle industry.
Despite the challenges posed by economic and political uncertainty, lockdowns due to the Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent supply chain problems it presented and several upheavals in the players of the industry, the Malaysian motorcycle market still managed positive growth.
2021 Q3 sales figures soared 197 per cent and the first nine months of 2022 saw 431,955 units registered.
Yamaha is the market leader with Honda in close attendance and Modenas in third.
The electric vehicle segment is the new growth market. A strong growth is expected with several new players in the market and the big names poised to launch their own EV motorcycles in the near future.
However, most are concentrating on the smaller commuter segments.
The government is also expected to launch new initiatives and incentives to bolster the EV market.
This would appear to be the awaited catalyst for the established names at least. In Japan, Honda Motor Company recently stated that electric motorbikes would make up 15 per cent of annual global sales by the end of the decade.
The company will introduce more than 10 electric models worldwide by 2025, including two electric compact commuter models in Asia, Europe and Japan.
It will also sell three larger electric motorcycles - which the company calls Fun EV models - for the US, Japan and Europe by 2025.
The EV bikes will be installed with all-solid-state batteries, which are under development for EVs, in the latter half of the 2020s.
All-solid-state batteries are designed to increase driving range, be flame-resistant and safe as well as smaller and lighter than lithium-ion batteries.
An upheaval in the industry in late 2021 saw Kawasaki Motors (KMC) taking up additional shares in the Modenas concern.
Previously, the brand was run by Kawasaki Motorcycles Sdn Bhd (KMSB) to great effect and the move would see Edaran Modenas (EMOS) take over the distributorship role.
However, KMSB saw an opportunity to take over the Lion Suzuki concern and become distributors for the ailing brand (and a name change to SMSB).
Other movers and shakers were Didi Resources, who were actively taking up the European marques from the Naza Group, after initially acquiring the Harley-Davidson brand.
Aprilia, Vespa, Piaggio and Moto Guzzi were next and recently the group added Royal Enfield to their fold.
MForce brought in Moto Morini back into the Malaysian market to accompany their existing Benelli, SYM, Brixton, WMoto and QJMoto brands.
Italjet was a latecomer to the party and brought in by Chear Global. Everyone else (read KTM, BMW and others) were status quo.
Motorcycle sport was the late bloomer since large groups of people meant a surge in Covid-19 numbers.
Racing, however, continued in empty grandstands and skeleton crews in the paddocks.
Many international events such as MotoGP cancelled their Asian rounds, to the dismay of vast numbers of motorcycle racing fans.
The return of MotoGP last October was the end of a long road back for international motorcycle racing in this region.
Other events also made a comeback, among them the Distinguished Gentleman's Ride, the annual Art of Speed show and of course, riding across the border and the Malaysian staple of wedding convoys.
It has been a fraught season and the effects of Covid-19 still are in effect, mostly in higher prices for the consumer due to high demand and the supply chain problem. But the recovery is in full swing and the future looks bright.
