Facilitate vision for motorcycle exports

The government should facilitate local motorcycle manufacturers in various ways to grab a share of the international export market, said Hafizur Rahman Khan, president of the Bangladesh Automobiles Assemblers and Manufacturers Association, yesterday. 

The world market has an annual demand for over 6 crore motorcycles of high engine displacement capacities and the demand is rising, he said.

Local entrepreneurs should focus on the export market, Khan, also the chairman of Runner Group, told The Daily Star in an interview.

His comment comes against the backdrop of a home ministry meeting on Thursday approving the manufacture and local sale of motorcycles of up to 350cc, culminating years of negotiations between motorcycle manufacturers and the government.

Cubic capacity (cc) refers to the power output of an engine. It is increased by raising the ratio of air and fuel being compressed in the engine.

Currently, motorcycles with over 165cc engines cannot be manufactured or imported for the local market.

However, manufacturers can export motorcycles with engines of up to 500cc, according to Motorcycle Industry Development Policy 2018.

As per the recent approval, only parts for motorcycles of up to 350cc can be imported and they must be assembled locally for sale in the domestic market. The Ministry of Commerce is expected to formulate a policy in this regard.

Global motorcycle sales amounted to $75.63 billion in 2022, according to research firm Fortune Business Insights.

The market is projected to grow from $79.57 billion in 2023 to $124.09 billion by 2030 exhibiting a compound annual growth rate of 6.6 percent during the forecast period, it says.

The government is gradually moving towards setting up a motorcycle industry in the country, said Khan.

There are many barriers for an industry to move forward and approvals like that of Thursday will remove the barriers one by one, he said.

On popular claims that the possibility of accidents goes up with use of engines of higher cubic capacities, he assured that there was no such connection.

Accidents are not associated with a rise in cc, rather speed is the number one cause of accidents, followed by a lack of fitness of the vehicle, said Khan.

Speed limits should be fixed and enforced for every road and this alone can prevent most road accidents, he said.

Much depends on how strict the government can be in this regard, said Khan.

"Our mission has not yet been accomplished that much. If we don't go far and out, we might get by taking different decisions but we will not be able to enjoy all the benefits," he said.

Global political and economic changes are coming. In the next 20 years the world will see a huge positive change in the automobile industry, he said.

So, Bangladesh has to work with a vision from now on. If the country cannot avail the opportunities, a lot will be lost, he added.