The number of motorcycles registered across the country continues to rise rapidly, amounting to over 39 million units now and exceeding the number targeted for 2020 by 3 million, the Saigon Times Daily reports.

At a recent conference on traffic safety with the 63 provinces and cities, Nguyen Hoang Hiep, Vice Chair of the National Traffic Safety Committee, said the number of newly-registered vehicles continued to rise strongly. This year to date, over 212,000 new motorcycles have been registered.

In Ho Chi Minh City, as of the end of January 2014, there were nearly 6 million motorcycles, excluding more than a million bikes from nearby provinces cruising the city's streets every day.

For automobiles, in the first two months of the year, up to 10,445 new vehicles were registered nationwide, taking the total number to over 2.17 million units. According to the planning of the transport sector, the whole country will have about 3.5 million automobiles by 2020.

The planning also specifies that the number of motorcycles will be restricted through administrative, economic and technical measures. Motorcycles will be used mainly in rural areas, where there is no public transport means.

The two biggest cities of the country, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, are still unable to find solutions to limit the number of private vehicles.

Recently, the Government requested five cities – Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Hai Phong, Da Nang and Can Tho – to map out pilot projects to provide bicycle-for-rent service in the downtown area.

Vietnam has claimed the fourth position in the world for annual motorcycle output, following India, China and Indonesia.

Nearly 70 percent of motorcycles on sale are manufactured by Honda, and the company holds the chair of the Vietnam Association of Motorcycle Manufacturers (VAMM) which made its debut in Hanoi on February 19 with five foreign invested members.

They are Honda Vietnam Co. Ltd., Yamaha Motor Vietnam Co. Ltd, Vietnam Suzuki Corporation, Piaggio Vietnam Co. Ltd., and SYM Vietnam.

These are the largest motorcycle producers in the country with their total sales making up to over 95 percent of the market share.-VNA