Dec. 5, 2005 – Asian suppliers approve new FAMI leader

Established in January 1999 to address common issues for the development of the motorcycle industry in the Asian region, the Federation of Asian Motorcycle Industries (FAMI) held its 13th Management Committee meeting and an Extraordinary General Assembly meeting September 20-22 in Thailand.
The General Assembly, the highest deliberative body in FAMI, convenes once annually in March. The Extraordinary General Assembly meeting in September served to approve Osamu Hayata, a representative of the Japanese Automobile Manufacturers Association (JAMA), as FAMI Vice President. Hayata replaces Yoshio Mabuchi, also of JAMA. The Management Committee acts as the administrative body for FAMI and meets once every six months to conduct the organization’s ordinary business.
Eighty representatives from FAMI member organizations were on hand for the gatherings, with a delegate from the International Motorcycle Manufacturers Association (IMMA) also attending as an observer.
FAMI contains the motorcycle industry bodies from eight Asian countries for which the combined annual motorcycle production is 13.8 million units. Member organizations include the Indonesian Motorcycle Industry Association (AISI), the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association (JAMA), the Motorcycle Distributors Association of Malaysia (MASAAM), the Motorcycle Development Program Participants Association of the Philippines (MDPPA), the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), Singapore Motor Cycle Trade Association (SMCTA), the Thai Automotive Industry Association (TAIA), and the Taiwan Transportation Vehicle Manufacturers Association (TTVMA).
Two FAMI committees also met during the three-day event. The Technical Committee discussed moves needed to harmonize testing standards in member countries by 2010; and the Research and Planning Committee, comprised of four task forces, decided to continue a multi-country road safety poster campaign through 2008, reviewed processes of data collection from member associations, agreed to form a new Intellectual Property Rights Task Force, and discussed a roadmap outlining FAMI accession to IMMA.
IMMA is an organization with membership by the motorcycle industry associations of Japan and countries from Western, Eastern and Northern Europe, and North and South America. It was formed to conduct studies on a wide range of issues pertinent to the development of the global motorcycle industry, and to represent the industry in voicing opinions to international agencies.
IMMA also is equipped with the Steering Committee, in charge of organizational management; the Technical Committee, to promote international harmonization of technical regulations and certification systems; and the Non-Tech Task Force, to target international cooperation in the compiling of statistics and other non-technical fields. U.S. interests in IMMA are represented by the United States Motorcycle Manufacturers Association (USMMA).
The next FAMI Management Committee and Annual General meeting are scheduled to convene March 2006 in the Philippines. psb