Motorbike sales drop amid economic woes

In the face of an economic crisis caused by the novel coronavirus pandemic, motorcycle sales in Bangladesh have plummeted, forcing the market players to offer big discounts on prices of different brands and models.

Data from the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority showed that there were 3,192,511 registered motorcycles in Bangladesh till February 2021. Of them, 311,016 were registered in 2020, down from 401,452 in 2019.

According to distributors, motorbike sales declined 50 per cent than the pre-pandemic period.

"To boost sales, we are offering discounts on different brands and models starting from Tk 5,000 to Tk 13,000 from April 13, said Ariful Islam, a senior executive of Niloy Motors at Tejgaon.

He said the offer would continue till Eid-ul-Fitr as pandemic and ongoing lockdown have dented the purchasing capacity of people, leaving the company’s overall sales at the halfway mark.

"Demand for motorbikes has declined further during this ongoing lockdown," he added.

Md Kamal, showroom manager of Universe Motors at Eskaton, said that their showroom now offered Tk 5,000 discount on every motorcycle purchase. “Due to this ongoing lockdown, we’re facing extreme loss as we cannot sell our stock motorcycles,” he said.

“I urge the government to allow us to keep our shops open during this wave of the pandemic to help our business run smoothly,” he said.

Setu Motors at Savar’s Thalbagh is offering at least a five per cent discount on the purchase of every motorcycle to boost sales, the proprietor of the showroom Md Salauddin told The Business Post over the phone.

“Before the Covid-19 pandemic, we usually sold 15 to 20 motorcycles every month. Now, the number has come down to less than 10,” he said.

Ruhul Amin of Prince World at Moghbazar said their customers now prefer to buy motorcycles online.

“Covid-19 decreased sales at our showroom. To increase sales during this pandemic, the government should reduce VAT on motorcycles,” he said.

Zihan Hossain, assistant manager of Kawasaki Motorcycle showroom at Gulshan-2, echoed Ruhul Amin regarding the drop in physical purchases.

“Our online service is open for anyone who wants to buy a motorcycle during this lockdown,” he said.

“The demand for motorcycles is currently falling. The economic crisis may be one of the reasons behind this,” he added.

Insiders said that the falling demand for ride-sharing services is having an impact on sales as well.

“The government should give us loans with low interest during this pandemic to help us run our businesses,” many other shop owners said.