The motorcycle market in Bangladesh may not be enviably large but then it is not a negligible one either. This is evident from the competition among bike manufacturers abroad to penetrate it. Already some of them have set their eyes on the increasingly growing market of the future and accordingly making plans for installing manufacturing plants here. Their projection is that the size of the country's motorbike market will double within two to three years. A report carried in this newspaper has made it clear how the two-wheeler is becoming popular as a convenient vehicle capable of saving time. Also its use as a source of income for unemployed youths in the rural areas in particular has been most welcome. The endeavour has added speed to the usually slow-paced movement in villages as well as contributed to the rural economy.
This is good news for the country. Bangladesh should have long opted for joint ventures not only in two-wheeler manufacture but also in four-wheeler enterprises. In fact, a local company started manufacturing motorcycles long ago. Why it failed to capture a substantial portion of the market is not a tricky question. In this country, trading is prioritised over manufacturing because there is instant gain in trade and commerce. The will to invest in production and develop large manufacturing base was simply absent in the early days. Even today it is largely missing. Or else, why should a local company take so long a time to finally decide on a joint venture for manufacturing cars in a plant here? Yet the Chittagong-based company must be wished well for going about this business. If the country's first vehicle assembling plant, Progoti, had a smooth sailing way back in the 70's, the country's automobile industry would have taken a firm root by now. Motorbike manufacturing plants could be considered a very easy proposition.
Clearly the country has missed an opportunity when the Japanese automobile manufacturers were looking for overseas sites in order to install motorcycle and car plants. Some South-east Asian countries as well as India took advantage of such offers to good use. Now Indian companies are trying to branch out. Bangladesh can seize the opportunity now. Developing a manufacturing base of its own automobile industry is in its own interest. Imported cars and motor cycles are highly costly for understandable reasons. Manufactured locally, they will be cheaper enough to be within the reach of middle-class people. Also the import of the technology and employment generation will leave a positive impact on the country's economy. Sure enough, the country's capacity to build a base for heavy industry is next to nothing. But keeping the attempt limited to automobile industry sounds rather reasonable. This goes well with its aspiration for achieving the middle-income status by 20021. Already, a large segment of people have raised their incomes to an appreciable level so much so that they can afford either a motorbike or a car in villages and small towns. The last option, of course, is to go for limited export of automobiles.
Developing automobile industry
FE Team | Published: April 07, 2015 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2026 06:01:00
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