Why ASEAN Motorcycle OEMs Add a Taiwan Source for Forged Connecting Rods

Southeast Asia builds and sells motorcycles at very high volume. Indonesia's domestic wholesales were 6,412,769 units in 2025 (KatadataOTO, AISI data). Vietnam's five VAMM members sold 2,615,057 units (VAMM). Thailand produced 1,887,208 motorcycles in 2024, and the Office of Industrial Economics forecast about 1.9 million for 2025 (OIE).

Every one of those engines needs a forged connecting rod. The rod is safety-critical: if it fails, the engine fails. Qualifying a new rod source also takes time, because forging dies, heat treatment and machining must all be approved. If your rods come from one supplier, or from several suppliers in the same country, one problem can stop your engine line.

A dependable second source is the usual answer. The question is where that source should be. This article sets out the benefits of a Taiwan supplier that we could verify from public data, and the points you should test yourself.

Taiwan's motorcycle industry grew up alongside Japanese OEMs. Yamaha Motor established Yamaha Motor Taiwan in 1987, and by 2017 that company had produced its ten-millionth motorcycle (Yamaha Motor). In 2001, Yamaha decided to move the development and manufacture of scooters for the Japanese market to its joint ventures in Taiwan (Yamaha Motor).

Japan is still an important market for Taiwan-made motorcycles. In 2025, Japan was the largest destination by value for Taiwan's motorcycle exports, at NT$1.33 billion, or 22.5% of the total (TTVMA statistics, customs data).

Why it matters to you: many ASEAN lines build Japanese-brand models or work to Japanese OEM standards. Taiwan's motorcycle supply chain has built Japanese-brand motorcycles, including models for the Japanese market, for decades.

According to the Taiwan Transportation Vehicle Manufacturers Association (TTVMA), Taiwan's motorcycle parts industry reached its highest output of NT$56.6 billion in 2022. Output for January to June 2026 was NT$25.6 billion, up 1.55%. Taiwan's member factories produced 1,098,207 motorcycles in 2023 (TTVMA industry overview).

The wider vehicle-parts sector is export-oriented. Taiwan exported NT$214.7 billion of automotive components in 2025. ASEAN destinations included Thailand (NT$2.60 billion), Indonesia (NT$1.42 billion), Malaysia (NT$1.15 billion) and the Philippines (NT$1.12 billion) (TTVMA statistics).

Why it matters to you: Taiwan's vehicle-parts makers already export to ASEAN customers.

TTVMA notes that Taiwan's motorcycle makers have invested in factories in China and Southeast Asia (TTVMA industry overview). TTVMA's overseas production report for 2025 shows SYM's VMEP plant in Vietnam produced 58,186 motorcycles, and KYMCO's Vietnam plant produced 7,132 (TTVMA statistics).

Why it matters to you: Taiwan's motorcycle industry is already part of motorcycle assembly inside ASEAN, not only an exporter to the region.

Central Taiwan has a large group of forging companies and their suppliers. The Taiwan Forging Association's member directory lists 48 member companies in Taichung City and 24 in Changhua and Nantou counties. The list includes forging shops, forging die makers, press builders, an induction heating supplier and special steel suppliers (Taiwan Forging Association, Taichung; Changhua/Nantou).

Why it matters to you: dies, equipment and process support are available close to the forging plant. That can help when a die needs repair or a new tool is needed for a model change.

China Steel Corporation (CSC), an integrated steel producer in Kaohsiung, lists JIS SCM420H, SAE 8620 and SAE 8620H in its 2025 bar and wire rod catalog. CSC supplies bar in coils from Φ14 to 50 mm and straight bars from Φ14 to 125 mm, and states that its bars are used for automobile parts (CSC catalog). These grades are used for carburized connecting rods in this industry.

Why it matters to you: a Taiwan forger can buy suitable alloy bar locally. Ask each supplier where its steel comes from and request mill certificates.

Taiwan's ports have direct container services to the region. Fluent Cargo's schedule listings, checked on 9 October 2026, showed shortest scheduled port-to-port transits of about 2 days 10 hours from Kaohsiung to Ho Chi Minh City, under 4 days from Taichung to Ho Chi Minh City, about 6 days from Kaohsiung to Bangkok, and about 8 days from Kaohsiung to Jakarta (Kaohsiung–HCMC, Taichung–HCMC, Kaohsiung–Bangkok, Kaohsiung–Jakarta). Wan Hai Lines' TVT service, announced in 2020, calls at Taichung, Cat Lai (Ho Chi Minh City), Bangkok and Laem Chabang (Logistics Manager). Schedules change, so check current sailings for your port.

Why it matters to you: short transits make it simpler to hold less safety stock and to react when demand changes.

TTVMA describes Taiwan's auto-parts industry as having an advantage in "少量多樣、彈性製造" (high-mix, low-volume, flexible manufacturing) (TTVMA industry overview). ASEAN lines often run many variants on one engine family, and aftermarket parts are needed after a model ends. Treat this as a claim to test: send a low-volume variant RFQ and judge the response.

This benefit is a reasoned argument, not a statistic. If your main rod source is in your own country, a second qualified source in another country reduces the risk that one regional event, such as a power shortage, a flood or a logistics disruption, stops both sources at the same time. Taiwan is close enough to ASEAN for practical logistics, but separate from your local supply base.

Taiwan is not an RCEP party (RCEP Secretariat), so a Taiwan rod counts as a non-originating material. Under ATIGA Article 28, regional value content of "not less than forty percent (40%)" is assessed on the finished product, not on each part (ATIGA). An imported rod does not automatically disqualify your motorcycle or engine. Confirm your own calculation with your customs authority or trade advisor.

• Material: steel source, grade on your print (for example AISI 8620 or JIS SCM420H) and mill certificates for each lot.
• Process: forging method, heat treatment and case depth checks, and grain flow evidence such as a macro-etch section.
• Documentation: a PPAP-style submission (Level 3 is a PSW with samples and complete supporting data), PFMEA, control plan, MSA and SPC.
• Inspection: center distance, big-end and small-end bore, roundness / circularity, bend and twist, and weight, with reports for each lot.
• Capacity and lead time: available capacity for your volume band, and sample, tooling and production lead times in writing.
• Certification: which certificates the supplier holds. Check scope and validity yourself.
• Logistics: shipping port, usual routes to your plant and packaging method.

If you are planning a second source for connecting rods, send your print, volume band and material requirements to the ROCKET sales team through rocketindustry.com.tw, or call +886-4-2491-6399.

• KatadataOTO (AISI data): https://auto.katadata.co.id/motor/new-motorcycle-wholesales-successfully-reached-64-million-units-by-2025-22825
• VAMM: https://vamm.vn/vamm-jointly-announces-its-sales-of-4th-quarter-2025-in-vietnam/
• Thailand OIE: https://www.oie.go.th/assets/portals/1/files/monthly_report/anualreport2025_outlookfor2026.pdf
• Yamaha Motor (2017): https://global.yamaha-motor.com/news/2017/0412/ymt.html
• Yamaha Motor (2001): https://global.yamaha-motor.com/news/2001/0418/taiwan.html
• TTVMA industry overview: https://www.ttvma.org.tw/en/industry
• TTVMA statistics (motorcycle exports, automotive component exports, overseas production): https://www.ttvma.org.tw/en/statistics
• Taiwan Forging Association member directory: https://www.forging.org.tw/ec99/rwd1422/category.asp?category_id=46 and https://www.forging.org.tw/ec99/rwd1422/category.asp?category_id=47
• China Steel Corporation bar and wire rod catalog 2025: https://www.csc.com.tw/csc/pd/doc/spec_bd_e_2025.pdf
• Fluent Cargo route schedules (checked 9 Oct 2026): https://www.fluentcargo.com/routes/kaohsiung-tw/ho-chi-minh-city-vn
• Logistics Manager, Wan Hai TVT service: https://logistics-manager.com/wan-hai-lines-to-launch-taiwan-to-vietnam-and-thailand-services-coverage/
• RCEP Secretariat: https://rcepsec.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/4.-List-of-RCEP-Parties-Implementing-the-Agreement-updated.pdf
• ATIGA: https://asean.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/ASEAN-Trade-in-Goods-Agreement.pdf