Indian bikes topple Japanese
Each day throughout the 1990s, BMK Motors - a second hand motorbike importer in Ndeeba, Kampala, was beehive of activity. Buyers from near and far lined up at the company shop, to buy the reconditioned Japanese motorbikes.
By Frank Sserwaniko
Each day throughout the 1990s, BMK Motors - a second hand motorbike importer in Ndeeba, Kampala, was beehive of activity. Buyers from near and far lined up at the company shop, to buy the reconditioned Japanese motorbikes.
Coming in brands like Yamaha Mate, Honda Super Cub and Suzuki Birdie, the bikes were more affordable than the new brands then. Besides, users had found that the Japanese alternative used less fuel, was user-friendly and had cheap spares.
Ndeeba boomed after more business people joined the Japan pilgrimage, importing more motorcycles. They were emulating BMK and another popular importer, Big Ways.
But this ended in 2005. Today, BMK and Big Ways premises in Ndeeba are inactive most of the day. Not that Ugandans are not buying motorcycles. In fact they are buying more, according to statistics from the Uganda Revenue Authority.
While 32,836 motorcycles were imported in 2006, the number increased to 47,832 in 2007 and 65,893 in 2008. However, it is the brand preferences that have changed.
The introduction of India – made motorbikes has changed fortunes of importers of Japanese brands. Many are stuck with stock imported as far back as 2007, while others have switched to other businesses as India’s new motorcycles increasingly dominate the market.
“It is no longer business as usual,†said Emma Kabuye, the manager of Trust Auto dealers in Ndeeba. “We are still stranded with old stock of Japanese motorcycles because many buyers have switched to the Indian brands like Bajaj Boxer and TVS. We cannot easily compete with them because they are brand new, cheap and more fuel efficient,†said Kabuye.
He said in a bid to clear the Japanese stock, they are ‘giving away’ the motorcycles at the cost price, without any margin, but the buyers are still few. “Many of us are no longer going to Japan, because of the high dollar exchange rate and the fluctuating yen that makes imports expensive, yet the market is also not good,†he added.
A sales lady at Big Ways, which used to be an epicenter of motorcycle transactions and is now occupied by various small traders, told Business Vision that the motorcycle business was good until the ‘Indians invaded it.’ “At least they should stay in the city centre, but some of them have opened distribution centers here. There is no way we can sell when they are selling at distributor price.â€
Indeed, the mood was much different at Verma Limited and Nirma International, the Bombo Road -based official distributors of Bajaj and TVS respectively.
Last Saturday, the Verma sales team had hardly any breathing space. Buyers kept flowing in and phones hardly stop ringing. The marketing manager, Medi Mwiri, said the demand for the Bajaj had been phenomenal.
“When we introduced them three years ago, the buying was low because people were not yet aware of their advantages. We used to sell about 30 units a month. Within six months, this had increased to 60. However, since last year, demand has picked up giving the Bajaj brand a market share of 30% of all motorbikes sold in Uganda today,†he said.
Mwiri declined to give the exact numbers of units sold per month, but a source estimated at least 15 motorbikes are sold per day, translating into about 400 each month (excluding Sundays).
The importance of motorbike transport commonly known as boda boda has been increasing over time throughout the country, but more so in Kampala city, where they play a big role in beating traffic congestion. Kampala City Council estimates that there are more than 10,000 boda bodas operating in the city alone.
Some riders own the motorcycles, but the majority are bought by individual investors who give them to riders for daily income of between sh10, 000 to sh15, 000.
Micro lenders and poverty alleviation initiatives are also loaning motorbikes to unemployed youths as a way to lift them out of poverty.
Mwiri says the unique features of the Bajaj Boxer make it a best buy especially for bodaboda work.
“Its fuel efficiency is exceptional– going about 70 kilometers per liter. Its engine is highly durable and it is 100% designed to be a boda boda bike,†he said.
“The extended seat size means that one can carry two passengers with a lot of ease.†This view was corroborated by findings of a mini-survey in the field. At five bodaboda parking stages visited at random, about 60% riders were using the Bajaj Boxer, while 30% had TVS. The other brands shared about 10%.
Kato Muhammed who has been riding a Bajaj for the last one year says he has had no regrets switching from a Yamaha Mate. “The Boxer is very fast and fuel efficient. There are claims that it is not durable, but all that depends on the handling,†he said.
Muyanja Sulait who rides a TVS says its main advantage is the lower fuel consumption, but adds, “Japanese models are a class apart, when it comes to durability.â€
Although they recognise this, the buyers of the new Indian brands – whom Mwiri estimates to be 90% bodaboda investors - seem to favour fuel efficiency, comfort, speed and the seat size, which make it easy to recoup their investment faster, as opposed to durability, a key factor for individual and organisational buyers.
However, the advent of the Made in India boom is not spelling total doom for Ndeeba town and its traders. Some companies that formerly imported Japanese brands have switched to authorised dealers of the Indian bikes, which they obtain from official distributors in Dubai or Kampala.
“We used to import motorcycles from Japan, but in 2007, we realised that people’s tastes had changed. We became authorised dealers for Verma Limited, the distributors of Bajaj brands in Uganda and we are doing good business,†Chris Wajjaddi, a manager at Matyansi Company Limited, in Ndeeba said.
Henry Mukasa, the motorcycle sales manager at BMK says it was around 2004, when Indians introduced the TVS and Bajaj Boxer, which changed the whole equation of motorcycle trade.
Not to be outdone, BMK has decided to stock variety – the Indian-made, the traditional Japanese brands and its own branded Chinese-made. He says there is still a silver lining for Made in Japan.
“Japan is still preferred for durability. Some people who had switched to Indian brands are coming back. Besides, they are those using motorcycles for transporting merchandise to markets. The Indian brands are not built to do that,†Mukasa said.
The increasing price of Indian brands has not deterred the surging demand.
In 2004, a Bajaj Boxer sold at sh1.9m but is now going for sh2.45m. The TVS, which went for sh1.8m now sells for sh2.25m.
On the centrally, prices of Japanese brands have gone down. The Yamaha Mate goes for an average of sh1.8m as opposed to sh2.2m three tears ago. The Honda Super Cub now goes for sh1.5m compared to sh1.8m in 2004.
Each day throughout the 1990s, BMK Motors - a second hand motorbike importer in Ndeeba, Kampala, was beehive of activity. Buyers from near and far lined up at the company shop, to buy the reconditioned Japanese motorbikes.
Coming in brands like Yamaha Mate, Honda Super Cub and Suzuki Birdie, the bikes were more affordable than the new brands then. Besides, users had found that the Japanese alternative used less fuel, was user-friendly and had cheap spares.
Ndeeba boomed after more business people joined the Japan pilgrimage, importing more motorcycles. They were emulating BMK and another popular importer, Big Ways.
But this ended in 2005. Today, BMK and Big Ways premises in Ndeeba are inactive most of the day. Not that Ugandans are not buying motorcycles. In fact they are buying more, according to statistics from the Uganda Revenue Authority.
While 32,836 motorcycles were imported in 2006, the number increased to 47,832 in 2007 and 65,893 in 2008. However, it is the brand preferences that have changed.
The introduction of India – made motorbikes has changed fortunes of importers of Japanese brands. Many are stuck with stock imported as far back as 2007, while others have switched to other businesses as India’s new motorcycles increasingly dominate the market.
“It is no longer business as usual,†said Emma Kabuye, the manager of Trust Auto dealers in Ndeeba. “We are still stranded with old stock of Japanese motorcycles because many buyers have switched to the Indian brands like Bajaj Boxer and TVS. We cannot easily compete with them because they are brand new, cheap and more fuel efficient,†said Kabuye.
He said in a bid to clear the Japanese stock, they are ‘giving away’ the motorcycles at the cost price, without any margin, but the buyers are still few. “Many of us are no longer going to Japan, because of the high dollar exchange rate and the fluctuating yen that makes imports expensive, yet the market is also not good,†he added.
A sales lady at Big Ways, which used to be an epicenter of motorcycle transactions and is now occupied by various small traders, told Business Vision that the motorcycle business was good until the ‘Indians invaded it.’ “At least they should stay in the city centre, but some of them have opened distribution centers here. There is no way we can sell when they are selling at distributor price.â€
Indeed, the mood was much different at Verma Limited and Nirma International, the Bombo Road -based official distributors of Bajaj and TVS respectively.
Last Saturday, the Verma sales team had hardly any breathing space. Buyers kept flowing in and phones hardly stop ringing. The marketing manager, Medi Mwiri, said the demand for the Bajaj had been phenomenal.
“When we introduced them three years ago, the buying was low because people were not yet aware of their advantages. We used to sell about 30 units a month. Within six months, this had increased to 60. However, since last year, demand has picked up giving the Bajaj brand a market share of 30% of all motorbikes sold in Uganda today,†he said.
Mwiri declined to give the exact numbers of units sold per month, but a source estimated at least 15 motorbikes are sold per day, translating into about 400 each month (excluding Sundays).
The importance of motorbike transport commonly known as boda boda has been increasing over time throughout the country, but more so in Kampala city, where they play a big role in beating traffic congestion. Kampala City Council estimates that there are more than 10,000 boda bodas operating in the city alone.
Some riders own the motorcycles, but the majority are bought by individual investors who give them to riders for daily income of between sh10, 000 to sh15, 000.
Micro lenders and poverty alleviation initiatives are also loaning motorbikes to unemployed youths as a way to lift them out of poverty.
Mwiri says the unique features of the Bajaj Boxer make it a best buy especially for bodaboda work.
“Its fuel efficiency is exceptional– going about 70 kilometers per liter. Its engine is highly durable and it is 100% designed to be a boda boda bike,†he said.
“The extended seat size means that one can carry two passengers with a lot of ease.†This view was corroborated by findings of a mini-survey in the field. At five bodaboda parking stages visited at random, about 60% riders were using the Bajaj Boxer, while 30% had TVS. The other brands shared about 10%.
Kato Muhammed who has been riding a Bajaj for the last one year says he has had no regrets switching from a Yamaha Mate. “The Boxer is very fast and fuel efficient. There are claims that it is not durable, but all that depends on the handling,†he said.
Muyanja Sulait who rides a TVS says its main advantage is the lower fuel consumption, but adds, “Japanese models are a class apart, when it comes to durability.â€
Although they recognise this, the buyers of the new Indian brands – whom Mwiri estimates to be 90% bodaboda investors - seem to favour fuel efficiency, comfort, speed and the seat size, which make it easy to recoup their investment faster, as opposed to durability, a key factor for individual and organisational buyers.
However, the advent of the Made in India boom is not spelling total doom for Ndeeba town and its traders. Some companies that formerly imported Japanese brands have switched to authorised dealers of the Indian bikes, which they obtain from official distributors in Dubai or Kampala.
“We used to import motorcycles from Japan, but in 2007, we realised that people’s tastes had changed. We became authorised dealers for Verma Limited, the distributors of Bajaj brands in Uganda and we are doing good business,†Chris Wajjaddi, a manager at Matyansi Company Limited, in Ndeeba said.
Henry Mukasa, the motorcycle sales manager at BMK says it was around 2004, when Indians introduced the TVS and Bajaj Boxer, which changed the whole equation of motorcycle trade.
Not to be outdone, BMK has decided to stock variety – the Indian-made, the traditional Japanese brands and its own branded Chinese-made. He says there is still a silver lining for Made in Japan.
“Japan is still preferred for durability. Some people who had switched to Indian brands are coming back. Besides, they are those using motorcycles for transporting merchandise to markets. The Indian brands are not built to do that,†Mukasa said.
The increasing price of Indian brands has not deterred the surging demand.
In 2004, a Bajaj Boxer sold at sh1.9m but is now going for sh2.45m. The TVS, which went for sh1.8m now sells for sh2.25m.
On the centrally, prices of Japanese brands have gone down. The Yamaha Mate goes for an average of sh1.8m as opposed to sh2.2m three tears ago. The Honda Super Cub now goes for sh1.5m compared to sh1.8m in 2004.