As predicted, Audi has dropped its Q1 2021 financials report, which means we get a glimpse into Ducati’s first quarter results for the year – and more specifically, which segments in Ducati’s lineup are performing (or not).
As we teased earlier this week, sales are strong for the Italian brand. Ducati is posting a 33% gain over 2020’s dismal numbers, but more importantly, Ducati still managed to show a 2% gain against the first quarter of 2019.
At the end of this week, Audi will release its official Q1 report for investors, which means that on Friday, we will get to see a fairly detailed view of how Ducati Motor Holding has fared in 2021 thus far.
Why wait until the end of the week though? A&R has an advanced look at those numbers now, with the Bologna brand touting a 33% increase in worldwide sales, compared to Q1 2020.
We now take a break from our usual doom and gloom when it comes to Harley-Davidson motorcycle sales, to report that the Bar & Shield brand has reported a stellar first quarter to 2021.
What we expect will the first of many motorcycle manufacturers to see strong growth in the new year, Harley-Davidson saw a 9% increase in motorcycles sold in the first three months of this year. Boom goes the dynamite.
Last year was a difficult year for the motorcycle industry, due primarily to the regional lockdowns, production stoppages, and disrupted supply chains.
The effect has been a loss in motorcycle sales across the board, and KTM is no different from the bulk of the two-wheeled brands.
Reporting a drop of 3.4% in motorcycle units sales, KTM ended last year selling 270,047 motorcycles worldwide (compared to 280,099 units in 2019).
Were you one of the lucky 500 people who plans to put a KTM 1290 Super Duke RR in their garage this year?
If you weren’t quick to act, then the answer is probably no (the same answer should be given for those of us living in the North American market as well – sad trombone), as the Super Duke RR sold out in a mere 48 minutes when it became available for pre-order.
Hidden by talk of the Harley-Davidson “Hardwire” business plan, which seems like more business speak than actual business substance, we also have the American brand’s Q4 results from last year, as well as the yearly sales results from 2020.
If you need a two-word summary of those sales results, we will provide you with a “not good” response.
Harley-Davidson finished the year down 17.4% compared to the sales numbers of 2019, with Q4 2020 showing a 14% drop over the same time period last year.
By all fair accounts, BMW Motorrad’s sales drop in 2020 (the first in nine years) should still be considered a positive result considering the circumstances, though perhaps not quite the extent that BMW’s press release would lead you to believe.
This is because the German brand is busy spinning its 2020 motorcycle sales figures with a full-court press, including the caveat that 2020 was the second-best sales result in BMW Motorrad’s history (which they are), though the success of BMW Motorrad varies greatly by region.
As we saw with the Ducati Motor Holding’s sales report from earlier today, 2020 was an obviously tough year for the motorcycle industry, and that trend continues with the BMW Motorrad’s results for the year.
In its preliminary report on the BMW Group’s annual sales, the German brand quotes that it sold 169,272 motorcycles and scooters to customers in 2020.
Despite BMW Motorrad spinning this as its second-best sales year ever, this number of bikes sold is a 3.4% drop compared to 2019’s sales volume, and it is the first time in nine years that sales for BMW Motorrad have not grown.
The beancounters are working hard to close the books on 2020, which means we are starting to see our first reports on the total economic situation from last year.
With factory closures, disrupted supply chains, and stay-at-home orders featuring heavily in the first-half of the year, the coronavirus decimated motorcycle sales worldwide.
Then, the second-half of the year saw a huge bump in two-wheel interest, buoyed by economic relief efforts, delayed sales trends, and a renewed interest in the ultimate social-distancing machine.
This makes for a grab bag of perspectives when it comes to motorcycles sales, and nothing could be more true than what Ducati Motor Holding is reporting today.
Episode 40 of the Brap Talk podcast is now out for your two-wheeled audio pleasure, and this one comes to us deep, deep within the Brap Talk vault of lost podcast episodes.
Recorded alllllll the way back on a trouble August afternoon, the show isn’t exactly talking about the latest and greatest news, but we thought it would be fun to listen to Jensen and Shahin prattle on, knowing full well the outcomes of some of their predictions and thoughts.