There seems to be no stopping the momentum that BMW Motorrad contains, as the German marque is reporting yet another record-breaking sales quarter.
Selling 31,370 units in Q1 2015, BMW Motorrad is up 9.2% over last year’s sales figures. That record was helped considerably by a strong March, with zie Germans selling 15,912 two-wheelers worldwide (up 4.8% over March 2014).
Triumph Motorcycles America is reporting a record setting first quarter, which also included that highest single-day of retails sales ever (March 31st).
Because of this, triumph says that in the 500cc+ on-road & dual-sport categoies the British marque is the top-selling European brand in North America.
Although triumph isn’t talking concrete figures, the company does say that sales for Q1 2015 were up 16% over last year’s numbers.
The brand does say that this most recent quarter’s sales success marks the 13th such quarter, out of the past four years (16 quarters), which year-over-year growth.
Consumer Reports has taken another polling from motorcycle owners, a part of the publication’s continuous assessment on the value of various motorcycle brands and categories.
As usual, the Japanese brands dominated the reliability segment, though that did not automatically translate into the happiest of owners.
Victory Motorcycles takes the cake for keeping its customers happy, which stems from having fairly reliable motorcycles, coupled with good customer service and dealer interactions.
As such, 80% of Victory owners said they would buy a Victory again. Compare that figure to 72% for Harley-Davidson, and 70% for Honda (all other OEMs were below 70%).
Did you miss your chance to reserve a Kawasaki Ninja H2 late last year? Don’t worry, Kawasaki is giving riders a second-chance at ordering the supercharged street bike.
According to the Kawasaki, the first-run of the H2 sold out, but since the H2 has since made the rounds on the motorcycle shows, and the press (not us) has had a go at them, there has been more interest coming out of the woodwork for the 200hp machine.
It’s tough cookies if you want to order a Yamaha YZF-R1M in the European Union right now, as what is shaping out to be the superbike of 2015 has sold out in every European country.
This means only those riders who pre-ordered an R1M online, on Yamaha Europe’s registration system, will be able to get a 2015 model — perpetuating the saying from the translated French: “you snooze, you lose”.
To rub salt into the wounds, all European customers of the R1M will get to join Colin Edwards and other Yamaha racing staff at an upcoming Yamaha Racing Experience events in July. Schwing!
The saying goes that one time is a fluke, two times is a coincidence, but three times…three times is a trend. Looking at Ducati’s last three years of sales (2012-2014), which spans only a 2% margin of growth, by definition one has to conclude that the Italian company is experiencing sales stagnation.
Granted each of the last three years have been record years for the Italian motorcycle company’s sales figures, but each year has been a nudging over the last, seemingly at the cost of Ducati dealers who have found more and more inventory on their showroom floors.
But it shouldn’t surprise Ducati followers to hear the recent departure of Cristiano Silei, Ducati’s now-former Vice President of Sales and Marketing. With Ducati seemingly hitting a wall on expansion and model diversity, Silei’s departure may have been expected in some circles, and certainly all eyes will be on his successor Andrea Buzzoni, to see what he can do with the role.
Is all of this a sign that Ducati has lost its magic, seemingly during the leadership transition from Gabriele del Torchio to Claudio Domenicali? Or is there growth to be had from the Italian brand, now that it is owned by Audi AG? We examine that thought in more detail, after the jump.
MV Agusta USA recently invited a slew of journalists down to Fontana, California in order to talk about the company’s new business plan, and to ride its current lineup of motorcycles on the infield course.
This article is “Part 1” of that experience, as I wanted to separate my thoughts on MV Agusta, MV Agusta USA, and the general motorcycling climate into one story, and then have my “not-a-review” of the machines for another article. Got it? Ok, let’s go.
The Motorcycle Industry Council has tallied the numbers from 2014, and is happy to report that the US motorcycle industry grew 3.8% last year. Participating motorcycle manufacturers reported that 483,526 two-wheelers were sold in 2014, with growth across all sectors except in scooter sales.
The off-road segment sold particularly well, seeing an almost 11% gain over 2013’s numbers, with 81,013 units going thru dealership doors. Dual-sport sales were up 3.6% with 34,497 units sold, while on-road sales were up a modest 3%, for 334,488 units sold.
Just a year after being acquired by KTM CEO Stefan Pierer, Husqvarna Motorcycles posted an all-time sales record of 16,337 units. The tally is the most the Swedish brand has ever sold in its 111 year history, which is perhaps surprising considering the company’s tenuous history as of late.
With those record sales, Husqvarna also posted over €100 million in revenue, a key metric for the brand, as it struggles to grow into KTM’s more exclusive and upscale counterpart.
2014 is another banner year for KTM, as the Austrian brand set another all-time sales record, selling 158,760 to customers last year. That figure solidifies KTM’s position as the largest European brand, beating out BMW yet again, though Team Orange got a lot of help from its Indian operations with minority partner Bajaj.
This sales figure includes sales from Husqvarna, so a little cheating is going on, but Husky’s contribution to KTM’s 28.2% sales growth is marginal at best. With that boost in sales, KTM is also reporting a 20.7% increase in revenue (€864.6 million), taking home €75 million (EBIT).
Honda is once again the top marque in the Canadian market, retaking the honor for the first time in seven years. Taking control of nearly 20% of the marketshare, Honda Canada sold 10,930 motorcycles in 2014, 10% more than its closest competitor.