HANOI, Jan. 13 (Xinhua) -- Vietnam, known as a motorcycle kingdom in the world, recorded motorbike sales of nearly 3.4 million units in 2018, breaking the record of 3.3 million vehicles in 2011, the Vietnam Association of Motorcycle Manufacturers (VAMM) said on Sunday.

The motorbikes were sold by five members of the VAMM, namely Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki, Piaggio and SYM.

In recent years, urban dwellers in Vietnam have preferred scooters, while their rural peers still have had high demand for motorcycles, VAMM said, noting that its members currently have 80 product models, including 24 models provided by Honda, 19 by SYM and 13 by Suzuki.

Although the capital city of Hanoi has decided to ban motorbikes from running in its urban districts from 2030, the local motorbike market will remain stable in the near future, the association said.

Vietnam spent 647 million U.S. dollars importing motorbikes, components and spare parts in 2018, up 45.2 percent from 2017, according to the General Department of Vietnam Customs.