Taiwan gears up for shift to electric motorcycles

The government pushes to ban ICE motorcycles by 2023.

A large motorcycle fleet and high household incomes provide enough push for Taiwan to shift to electric motorcycles, Fitch Solutions Macro Research reported yesterday.

Incentives such as subsidised purchases, battery-charging and swapping stations, and parking bays will further encourage the Taiwanese people to buy electric motorcycles amidst the Executive Yuan’s plan to ban ICE-powered motorcycles by 2023.

Motorcycle ownership in the small country remains high with an estimated 577 motorcycles per 1,000 people in 2018, second only to Vietnam and placing above Malaysia. However, fleet size will likely contract to 539 units within a five-year period due to a saturated market.

Even as household incomes are rising, Taiwan will still prefer motorcycles over cars, with an estimated 947.269 motorcycles by 2023 compared to 170,331 cars by the same period.

Favorable conditions such as dedicated motorways will sustain motorcycle demand, whilst passenger vehicles continue to trail due to limited parking spaces, narrow streets, and high parking fees.