Looking for help putting together information on the Powersports aftermarket

[QA-Jim]

Hello Everybody,

We are a performance aftermarket distributer of primarily automotive parts in China and are looking to expand into Powersports. Although this is a tiny niche market in China right now we get the sense from some of our initial research that it is terribly underserved. I was recently speaking to a guy in the Bimoto shop in Shanghai and he was explaining the difficulty in getting aftermarket parts as well as genuine OEM parts for the imported bikes. A similar story to what we heard when we visited a Polaris dealer in Beijing. I would think for most expats you could easily order parts online and have them shipped to you in China without too much hassle. Obviously finding someone to help install them is a whole different issue.

We would like to put together some information on which foreign manufacturers have already established dealerships in China, how many they have and where they are located, etc. We would also like to get input on what types of accessories would be popular in China and what acceptable pricing would be. Generally speaking China retail would be roughly 25% higher than US due to duty and VAT, but removing some steps in the distribution channel could bring this down a lot.

Any thoughts, input or details you can provide are appreciated and yes in return we will come up with some type of "mychinamoto" discount.

Thanks!

Jim

[euphonius]

Dear Jim,

Greetings and welcome to MCM. Interesting ideas you are expressing, and timely. The motorcycle market inside China, despite the country's "prowess" (or at least volume) in exports, is basically a giant cottage industry, with lots of aftermarket stuff of varying quality with almost no reliable channels for distribution. Every little shop, you know, the ones with tools and parts and packaging and cigarette packs and garbage strewn and incomplete bikes strewn everywhere, has its little selection of parts, but nothing systematic -- not even for the bikes they they claim to distribute. There is no coordination at all, so the need/opportunity is enormous.

The one bright spot is China's ebay equivalent, Taobao.com, which will very efficiently (albeit mainly in Chinese language) scare up virtually any part you might need for your make and model, though there are many caveats.

One caveat is that makes and models themselves are highly inconsistent, so "your bike" may originate in a production run in the single digits, as with our Jialing JH600s, or one in the thousands, as with the many "farmer bikes" in production. This makes it very hard for an aftermarket to thrive.

Another caveat is that there is approximately zero coordination between the bike makers, who don't give a toss for the domestic market, and the aftermarket folks, so it's really catch as catch can. You'll find a healthier aftermarket ecosystem there in the US than here, because the manufacturers regard the domestic market as far less interesting. Marketing here is almost non-existent, whether for the bikes themselves or aftermarket parts.

What's more, there are no real laws here regarding aftermarket service and support -- just basic consumer protection rules mandating a certain period of warranty (1 year usually, or maybe 10k km).

Distribution is primitive at best. There is no Pep Boys or O'Reilly's or AutoZone or Strauss Autos.

Some guys are starting online stores, but these are haphazard and hit-or-miss at best. There's no reliable place to guy buy stuff you need for your motorcycle.

I could go on.

Not sure why retail prices would be higher, given that 99% of the stuff you'd want to offer in China is made in China. It's more a matter of organizing distribution and marketing. No easy task here, I'm afraid.

Great if you are thinking of taking the plunge, but I'd strongly suggest you get some folks on the ground over here, build a team, and get out there and understand what makes motorcyclists tick, whether they be rural transport riders, urban commuters or newly wealthy recreational/adventure riders.

cheers!

[QA-Jim]

Thanks Euphonis! We were more looking to sell parts for the imported bikes versus the domestic produced bikes. We've done some chinese engine development in the past and know there is a tremendous opportunity for these bikes, but it is not a quick process. We have offices in Guangzhou and Suzhou, but these guys pretty much stick to the automotive side because it is where the immediate opportunity is at right now. If we can add some ready to sell Powersports products it will allow us to develop both simultaneously. As an example, if we can begin selling a US brand exhaust for BWM's, Harley's, etc it will be easier to convince them to develop one for a JH600.