IMOTORBIKE TO ZOOM INTO VIETNAM SOON

By Zarul Effendi Razali

KUALA LUMPUR, March 15 -- Following its successful penetration of the Indonesian market, Malaysia’s motorcycle e-commerce platform, iMotorbike is planning to roll into the Vietnam market soon.

Founder and chief executive officer Gil Carmo said Vietnam is an obvious choice as the people in the country are very digital-savvy.

“They are also probably the region’s third largest motorbike market, with between 50 million and 60 million registered motorbikes. 

“The team is getting ready. All the fundamentals are pretty much done. We don't have an exact date (to enter the market) but we will go live pretty soon,” he told Bernama recently.

The iMotorbike platform serves motorcycle manufacturers, dealers, service providers and consumers exclusively, providing an extensive range of services such as market research, motorbike financing and insurance.

It also includes a customer-to-customer marketplace where users can buy and sell used motorbike parts and accessories.

“Our vision is always growing. The more we can support, the more we can serve.

“We need to plan carefully to guarantee that we will be able to serve the market efficiently,” said Carmo.

Moving forward, he said the company aims to not only support the users, both buyers and sellers, but also dealers, brands, manufacturers as well as producers of parts and related products such as lubricants.

“We want to properly support regional players and mechanics in upgrading their businesses and we are currently working with more than 2,800 dealers (companies).

“Every single user that we are onboarding, be they professional entities or private individuals, will have to undergo a screening process to guarantee their trustworthiness,” said Carmo.

With the participation from dealers and individual users, the platform has an extensive range of old and new motorbikes for sale, he said, adding that currently, there is a huge demand for the underbone motorcycle (the kapchai) and motorbikes with engine capacities of 250cc and below.

Commenting on the rising popularity for motorbikes in Southeast Asia, he said that it was a natural progression due to the increasing volume of traffic.

“The middle class is growing. A big portion of the population in Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines are now entering the middle class category,

“As such, there is a bit of an issue with the expanding population in the big cities, so riding the motorcycle to work is just much more efficient,” he said.

Aside from the growing traffic volume, Carmo said the region also has the perfect weather for riding compared to Europe and other countries in the western hemisphere, where the weather can be too cold.

“It is just not possible to use the motorbike on a daily basis (in those countries) throughout the year. But in this (Asia Pacific) region, you can ride the bike everyday,” he added.

Carmo said 65 per cent of the population in the Asia Pacific region owns motorbikes, adding that the number of motorbike owners in Malaysia has also increased by 8.89 per cent in just three years.

To support its wide range of services, iMotorbike has partnered with established brands, including Berjaya Sompo, Direct Lending and Zurich.

iMotorbike is also a proud holder of the MSC Status Tier 1, which gives them a competitive advantage to further their work for the motorcycle industry.

-- BERNAMA