American Motorcycle Dealer AMD 169 August 2013 | Page 12

<<< Continued from the Cover

72 degree 1125 cc Helicon engine made for Buell by Bombarier's Rotax engine manufacturing subsidiary in Austria. From Hero's perspective Buell brings much to the table of their ambition - one of the world's most respected chassis and performance engineers, the background Beull has of trying to launch several new bikes (such as the Buell Barracuda B2) and enter new market sectors with the Buell brand (such as the dirt bike market with planned 450cc engine also by Rotax) provides Hero with access to the contacts and contracts of a player with a proven ability to develop and produce multiple platforms.

Indeed given his experience with Harley-Davidson's air-cooled Sportser engines the international industry scuttlebut includes speculation that dirt bikes and the relative simplicity of air-cooled v-twin cruiser manufacturing may be early ports of call en-route to performance street bikes for a collaboration that is clearly designed to enable the Indian company to broaden its manufacturing competencies. As a marker to long-term thinking one spin-off of the existing partnership with Erik Buell was sponsorship of Team Hero and AMSOIL Hero - a first for an Indian two-wheeler company when it enetered the AMA Pro National Guard Superbikes Championship last year. www.erikbuellracing.com

ATA released by the Japanese Automotive and Motorcycle trade association (JAMA) has revealed that exports of motorcycles of over 250cc by May 2012 Europe USA Overall 9,199 5,938 20,365

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the big four Japanese manufacturers are still in decline on a worldwide basis. While there is some indication of modest recovery in the United States, in Europe Change -25.92 +40.08 -5.28 2012 87,874 51,618 149,222

Japanese Motorcycle exports continue to fall off a cliff. In May 2013, Japanese exports worldwide were down by -5.28 percent at 19,290 units. Within that figure, 8,318 were 2013 to date 64,560 55,140 178,080 Change -26.53 +6.82 -16.21

May 2013 6,815 8,318 19,290

exported to the United States, which is a +40 percent increase on May of 2012, but in Europe Japanese exports were down by nearly -26 percent at just 6,815 units. For the year to date, Japanese exports to the United States are up by +6.82 percent, at 55,140 units, while worldwide they are down -16.21 percent (149,222 units), with Europe down by -26.53 percent at 64,560 units.

IGURES released at the end of May by ACEM, the Brussels based motorcycle industry trade association (the Association of European Motorcycle Manufacturers and Importers) show total PTW sales for the 21 major European markets they monitor down by 82,417 units compared to the first four months of 2012; a decline of -18.2 percent. As part of a continuing five year pattern of decline ACEM is pointing to youth unemployment (in particular) and the "protracted rainy and cold climate in April delaying the start of the motorcycling season" as primary reasons. Sales of PTWs for the first four months are reported as being 369,130 vehicles against 451,547 in the first four months of 2012. ACEM says that "the usual spike in sales, which coincides with the onset of the spring, has not materialized, postponed by bad weather conditions all over the EU. This decline, however, can largely be attributed to the economic context.

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Diminishing motorcycle and scooter registrations can be linked to the growing unemployment rates of young people all across Europe." They go on to say that "an endemic lack of disposable income and work opportunities are reducing youths’ capacity to access convenient and flexible transport." For the month of April specifically, PTW (Powered-Two-Wheeler) sales in Europe are said to have totalled 140,285 units. ear to date motorcycle registrations are reported to be in decline more slowly than small cc machines, -15.4 percent for the first four months of the year, with moped sales down -24.3 percent. "Compared to March the magnitude of the drop has slowed somewhat, with Germany able to halve the losses accumulated in the three months to March at -7.4 percent." Of the other markets that ACEM monitors Austria was down -8.8 percent; France -8.3 percent; Poland -21.8 percent; The Netherlands -22.1 percent; Italy -

Total Powered Two Wheeler sales in Europe

31.2 percent; Spain-15.6 percent; Greece -32.6 percent; UK -10.0 percent." At their annual conference in Brussels in January ACEM reported that annual European PTW registrations had declined to some 1.5m units in 2012, meaning that they had nearly halved since 2007 (2.7m units), and at that stage were pinning hopes of a stabilization for the year(s) ahead on a trend that appeared to show the rate of decline to be reducing.

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