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The Philippines' motorcycle sales surged last year as Filipinos sought affordable transportation amid traffic woes and the rise of e-commerce and ride-hailing services.
Data from the Federation of Asian Motorcycle Industries (FAMI) showed that motorcycle sales in the Philippines jumped past 1.6 million units from Janaury to December 2024, reflecting an eight percent increase from the previous year.
FAMI’s database, sourced from the five member-companies of the Motorcycle Development Program Participants Association (MDPPA), disclosed that 1,681,482 motorcycle units were sold last year.
This marks an impressive reversal from 2023’s 1,556,488, which was a slight decrease from 2022’s 1,564,827.
Domestic assembly, however, slightly declined in 2024 to 1,253,056 units from the 1,285,578 of the prior year.
This means that more imported motorcycles filled the supply gap from locally assembled units last year.
MDPPA’s data comes from the local subsidiaries of four giant Japanese motorcycle brands—Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki, and Yamaha—along with Indian brand TVS.
Industry insiders noted that the group accounts for approximately 80 to 90 percent of domestic motorcycle sales and production.
Figures from MDPPA do not include those from Chinese, Taiwanese, and other brands—meaning they understate the overall performance of the industry that also sells imported motorcycles.
Last year’s holiday season saw a surge in motorcycle buyers in the country, with November setting a record-high in monthly sales of 160,675 units.
The two-wheeler boom on Philippine roads has become more evident lately, as Filipinos opt for a more affordable mode of transportation—one that can zip past excruciating traffic.
According to the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA), motorcycles registered the highest volume increase among all vehicles tracked through its average annual daily traffic (AADT) statistics.
From only 443,340 in 2013, this has since ballooned to more than 1.6 million a decade later, which represents an increase of almost fourfold.
The growth in e-commerce deliveries and the rising mainstream appeal of motorcycle taxis-for-hike are among the most influential factors behind this, according to the Congressional Policy and Budget Research Department (CPBRD) of the House of Representatives.
Among FAMI's seven member-associations, highly populous Indonesia ranked first with 6,333,310 motorcycle sales, while Vietnam trailed in a distant second with 2,653,607.
Thailand secured a narrow lead over the Philippines for the third spot, selling 1,683,239 motorcycles—just 1,757 more than its Filipino counterpart—according to data from the Thai Automotive Industry Association (TAIA).
Rounding up the list are Japan, Malaysia, and Taiwan, with less than a million units sold in each country, respectively.
While the motorcycle population is on the upswing in the Philippines, it is notable that sales have yet to revert to their pre-pandemic high.
Before the Covid-19 pandemic, which stopped most economic activities and transport mobility, the country saw a record of 1,704,898 units sold in 2019.
In 2020, this drastically plunged to 1,206,374 sales. Nonetheless, since the economy reopened in 2021, sales are now recovering.
