Traffic woes benefit motorcycle industry

CEBU, Philippines - The worsening traffic problem in the country may have caused too much incovenience to the commuting public but on a positive note, it has benefited the motorcycle industry.

he nation’s public transport system has become more difficult and that promoting motorcycle commuting may probably be the solution to the traffic congestion problem and heavy urban vehicle emissions, said Ryan B. Tan Yu, the product development officer of SKYGO Philippines.

Tan Yu said technology nowadays has greatly improved motor production and at the same time is also driving people to think of the motorcycle as an affordable travel option.

Although 24-year-old Tan Yu claimed that the car industry has been--undeniably--thriving which is evident on the dominant presence of four-wheel vehicles on major roads, he said “without a proportionate change in our roads and highways it will inevitably reach a dead end.”

However, he believes that the economic and infrastructural changes in the recent years have been supporting the motorcycle business, saying “public transport has become more difficult, while our roads have started to reach its limit on the number of four-wheel vehicles it can handle at a time.”

Making motorcycle to be the potential major transportation mode in the future may possibly be the answer  to urban traffic congestion, the marketing expert said, adding also the affordable form of individual motorized transportation has greatly considered the financial capacity of the average Filipinos.

Upgrade

He said the motorcycle and its role in the country’s transport system in general has been changing recently, saying the public has changed the way they perceive and think about the industry.

He cited that one of the significant changes that has been adapted in their company is using of digital parts such as gauges and instrument panels into their new motorcycle models.

Tan Yu, however said that this is just rather a minor technology upgrade, their main objective is really to ‘digitize’ the traditional analog components of classic motor units.

“But this change accurately reflects the improvement of the Philippine motorcycling in terms of technology,” the SKYGO official emphasized. 

SKYGO’s marketing officer John Paul M. Yutiu also said that with the growing demand for motorcycles among the young population, their company has answered to the call by developing the Pony model, its latest so far.

Yutiu, 21,  described the model as having a blend of both classic and modern design motorcyle, explaining that this is mainly the whole point of the motorcycle company to continue growing in the seemingly competitive indusry by keeping up with the changing market preference by offering them something new.

“This genre of motorcycle appeals primarily to the youth,” he said, “and is now a growing attraction in the country’s motorcycling industry.”

He has observed that over the last five years, nearly all Philippine motorcycle brands have been releasing models catering to the youth market.

It seems to suggest, he further added, that the country’s general motorcycling image “is taking a shift into sportier and luxurious motorcycles.”

Based on experience, the marketing officer shared that majority of motorcycle sales can be attributed to two factors namely utility and for business use: “These motorcycles are bought for their inexpensiveness and reliability.”

These include the underbone/moped type and the standard motorcycle that is suitable for a sidecar attachment, making it into a public utility tricycle.

Investing in research and development are two important things for the business to come up with a new model which made such option readily available.

Tan Yu said “It was only an available option which was rationally difficult to disregard.” He added it was not hard for the company to release a light, small, fuel efficient and low maintainance motorcycle to the market.

Quality matters

They have seen many gaps in the motorcycle market that they want to address. However, Tan Yu stressed that maintaining and providing good quality products should be the commitment of every company.

For the most part, research and development of both the supplier and the firm takes time with the testing and requirements, delaying the release of a certain product in the market.

“Testing is not only done by acquiring a number of kilometers on the motorcycle, it also looks into the aging of the motorcycle components and this does take time.”

SKYGO’s Tan Yu said that in the manufacturing business, quality defines the whole product and it should be mainly considered on top of pricing.

It does not matter for a company to offer the cheapest motorcycle product, he also added, but to have “the most value for one’s money.”  (FREEMAN)