Text and photos by William Herrera
The Motorcycle Development Program Participants Association, or MDPPA, recently met with select media outfits to highlight pertinent information in the motorcycle industry.
Billed as “Generation Road Safety”, the organizers tackled some of the most important issues from the previous year, and the current outlook for 2023.
From 2012 to 2019 the industry showed an average growth rate of about 15%, which dipped in 2020. There were only 1,206,374 units sold during the pandemic, but in 2021, a rebound of + 19% was recorded. Then in 2022, the four members of MDPPA (Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki and Yamaha) registered robust sales of 1,564,457 units.
The delivery service industry, with its preference for automatic transmission motorcycles commonly known as scooters, accounted for over 900,000 units of the total sales to again become the best-selling segment in the motorcycle industry.
MDPPA President, Norminio Mojica said, that while the industry experienced numerous economic challenges, the conservative estimate of the stakeholders for this year is a healthy 10% growth. This forecast, however, is only for the members of MDPPA.
Another point raised during the forum was the implementation of a motorcycle lane along Commonwealth Avenue, considered the widest highway in the country. It was revealed that MDPPA was not invited to discuss the possible ramifications of the motorcycle one-lane policy, but, Ms. Lisette Fajardo MDPPA Director said that “having one lane exclusive for motorcycles, I think, is a very promising development for motorcycles. Isn’t that good for our motorcycle riding public.”
Furthering the Road Safety Advocacy of the association, MDPPA will work in close contact with select educational institutions, this year, the group is targeting 10 additional schools to hold road safety seminars, to educate both riders and students, for free.
MDPPA is an active member of the Federation of Asian Motorcycle Industries or FAMI, whose members include, TAIA (Thailand), AISI (Indonesia), MASAAM (Malaysia) and VAMM (Vietnam).
