IPOH: The sale of motorcycles is expected to hit a new record of 700,000 units this year, says Datuk Wee Hong, president of Malaysia Motorcycle and Scooter Dealers Association.

With the general election just around the corner and Budget 2023 scheduled to be tabled on October 7, more incentives are expected to be in the pipeline for the people.

Wee is optimistic and confident that the sale of motorcycles will reach 700,000 units.

Based on the registration of motorcycles at the Road Transport Department, the number of motorcycles sold was 485,709 units as of this August.

For the same period last year, the number of motorcycles sold was 368,665 units, an increase of 117,044 units or 32%, he said during the 37th anniversary dinner of Perak Motorcycle and Scooter Dealers Association recently.

“For the first eight months of this year, sales of motorcycles exceeded an average of 60,000 units this year,” he added.

Lockdown measures imposed during the past two-and-a-half years see the rise of delivery service and logistics industry and the various incentives offered for B40 community by the government have directly and indirectly helped boost the sale of motorcycles.

“A total of 595,970 units were sold in 2019 and the figure plunged by 4.5% to 569,412 in 2020 due to lockdown measures. In 2021, the sales of motorcycles increased by 8% to reach 614,935 units.

“In the business world, opportunities are found in crisis, or both exist, like the case of motorcycle sales,” he said.