About 2.3 million Chinese motorcycles worth US$620 million were exported during the first 10 months of 2001, up 68 percent from the previous year.

"The export volume is expected to witness further increases in 2002," Yang said.

New, less-polluting models will be available to boost sales. And careful corporate management will give the industry a competitive edge as well, he said.

Exports of Chinese motorcycles started rocketing upward in the late 1990s, going from 40,000 sold in 1998 to 258,000 in 1999.

In 2000, nearly 2 million were exported, and last year's total is expected to come in at 2.3 million.

There are some challenges, Yang acknowledged, including the need for Chinese companies to improve their offerings in the now-weak after-sale services arena.

Chinese motorcycle manufacturers lost an estimated 69 percent of the market in Indonesia because of poor after-sale services.

"They should draw lessons from that failure," he said. "Better service will bring a stable market."

Yang said producers must work with dealers to develop after-sales service centers.

Yang credited the introduction of the bidding system into the export of motorcycles for expansion.

About 410 Chinese motorcycle producers once competed in Southeast Asia, a major market.

The heated competition among Chinese enterprises hurt domestic makers, however. Dramatic price reductions caused losses to many despite the increased demand, Yang said.

To stop this, the China Council for Import and Export of Machinery and Electrical Products began to manage exports through bidding.

In the first round of bidding, the number of Chinese enterprises producing motorcycles for export to Viet Nam and Indonesia fell from 200 to 70. Another 30 lost their qualifications for exporting in the second round of bidding.

"The purpose of bidding was not to restrain exports but to standardize the market and encourage enterprises to open new markets," he said.

(China Daily January 3, 2002)