Taiwan International Motorcycle Show An Importer’s Dream

[dropcap]J[/dropcap]umping several time zones to visit the Taiwan International Motorcycle Industry Show may seem a bit extreme to some, but if you’re in the industry and looking to either import new products or find suppliers who can make (as in private-label, or just flat out manufacture for you), then this is the show for you in many respects. There really is no other reason to visit this show unless you’re a fan of fermented tofu and bubble tea.

If you want to see a large motorcycle trade show, you may want to wait for INTERMOT, EICMA or even AIMExpo in the U.S. With only 163 exhibitors, the show is not huge and visitors can see most of it in a day or two pretty easily… That is if you’re not busy making deals on every aisle.

According to Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA), the group who hosted a small media delegate for the event, the Taiwan International Motorcycle Industry Show was up about 14% in scale this year compared to 2015, meaning there were more exhibitors taking up more booth space than the previous year. However, if you only went to see Motorcycle Taiwan, you would be missing some opportunities. The key to this event is that it is really four shows in one. In fact, that is what they call it: Taipei AMPA 4-in-1 Exhibition. This includes Taipei International Auto Parts & Accessories Show (Taipei AMPA), AutoTronics Taipei, Taiwan International Electric Vehicle Show and Taiwan International Motorcycle Industry Show – all held in Taipei in or near the Taipei 101 World Trade Center Exhibition Hall in April.

This year, the four-day exhibition was host to more than 35,000 total visitors for all four shows of which 6,555 were foreign buyers from 134 countries, according to TAITRA. The top 10 buyer countries were (in order of number of representatives): Japan, Mainland China, United States, Malaysia, South Korea, Singapore, Thailand, Hong Kong, Philippines and Australia. However, on the motorcycle side, we would venture to guess most were local or regional visitors and buyers. Motorcycle Taiwan primarily caters to the domestic market and the broader scooter market so that doesn’t leave much for U.S. visitors to gawk at unless, as we mentioned earlier, you’re looking to cut a deal with a supplier or wholesaler.

Out of the 163 exhibitors, we spoke to several who had already set up distributors in North America and Europe, and a few others that were eager to expand if the opportunity arose. Some of the more familiar names in the industry from Taiwan were not exhibiting such as KYMCO, however, a smaller competitor TCB had quite a large presence.

Since Taiwan’s economy is based on exports, the International Motorcycle Industry Show is an ideal place to do business as a foreigner. The exhibitors are eager to work with other regions and all communicate the common language of our industry well – money talks!

Next year’s show is April 17-23, 2017. Visit www.motorcycletaiwan.com.tw