Thai Honda Manufacturing Co., Ltd. (previously known as A.P. Honda Co., Ltd. until March 2021, generally known as Honda Motorcycle Thailand) is the official manufacturer and distributor of
Honda motorcycles in Thailand. Its headquarters are in
Samut Prakan. Honda Motorcycle Thailand plays a significant role as a center in distributing Honda motorcycles to Asian and European markets.
The company sponsors Thai riders to compete in
Grand Prix motorcycle racing (WorldGP), particularly Moto2 class such as
Ratthapark Wilairot,
Somkiat Chantra, and Thitipong Warokorn.
Thailand's motorcycle market
History
In the period 1986–1988, the motorcycle market in Thailand sold roughly 200,000 bikes per year. Yamaha and Kawasaki were the market leaders. Honda was third, with a 22% market share. Its reputation in Thailand before the decade of the 1990s was poor. Things changed in 1989 with the introduction of the "Nova", a
two-stroke
A two-stroke (or two-stroke cycle) engine is a type of internal combustion engine that completes a power cycle with two strokes (up and down movements) of the piston during one power cycle, this power cycle being completed in one revolution of ...
bike that Honda rode to sales leadership in 1989. Honda had forecast sales of 2,000–3,000 Novas per month, but 10,000 per month became the sales norm. In 1997, Honda faced ending production of two-stroke engines at its plant in
Lat Krabang
Lat Krabang ( th, ลาดกระบัง, ) is one of the eastern districts of Bangkok.
Geography & history
Lat Krabang (literally translating to "slope of shield") is a second largest district of Bangkok (the first one is neighbouring distr ...
. But in 1997, the
1997 Asian financial crisis struck, causing Thais to economise, and the new
four-stroke "Wave" and "Dream" models became popular as they used less fuel than two-strokes.
Current
Thailand motorcycle sales surpassed two million bikes for the first time in 2011, hitting 2.01 million. Sales rose to 2.13 million units in 2012, the highest level ever, before dropping to two million in 2013. In 2014, the market fell by 15% to 1.7 million due to political turmoil and delayed payments for farmers under the rice-pledging scheme. Thailand's motorcycle sales in 2015 totaled 1.68 million bikes, down one percent from 2014. In the first four months of 2016, 559,915 motorcycles were sold, down 3.8% for the same period in 2015. In 2018, overall motorcycle and motorbike sales in Thailand totaled 1,789,000 units, down 1.2% from 2017. The market is expected to decline further in 2019, to 1.76 million units.
The motorcycle market in 2018 saw 1.79 million units sold, with Honda selling 1.4 million.
Honda has enjoyed the largest share of the local motorcycle market for 30 years. Honda posted a 78.5% market share in 2018. Yamaha is second, with 15.1%, a figure projected to rise to 16% in 2019.
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Honda motorcycles/scooters manufactured in Thailand
* Underbone: Wave, Dream, Super Cub, Hunter Cub
* Minibike: Grom/MSX, Monkey
* Scooter: Scoopy, Zoomer-X, PCX, Click, Icon, Forza
* Sport bike: CBR series, CB series
* Cruiser: Rebel
References
External links
Official website
{{Automotive industry in Thailand
Vehicle retailers
Retail companies established in 1986
Retail companies of Thailand
Motorcycle manufacturers of Thailand
Thai companies established in 1986