As the motorcycle market in Europe continues to worry about how new motorcycle and aftermarket parts and accessory sales activity performs in the coming winter season - especially as a second wave of coronavirus infections starts to build throughout Europe - the financial news from the majority of the leading motorcycle manufacturers so far is encouraging .

Some two weeks after the last edition of International Dealer News went to press ( August / September ), a number of motorcycle manufacturers reported their first and second quarter results ( the three months to June 20 ), and there has been a tsunami of OEM news since as the market embraces a new , virtual ' No Show ' new model launch culture . While describing the results posted so far as " good " would be a stretch ( everyone has been down one way or another ), they were " less bad " than might have been expected during the March and April " days of darkness ".

We reported on KTM ' s rapid recovery in the last edition - its numbers were still substantially ' off ', but its direction of travel was better - and the latest news from Austria is of an upward revision to the Group ' s 2020 forecasts and a series of initiatives and track

successes that is seeing it push on for real growth in the coming years . Parent company PIERER Mobility AG has increased its forecast for the 2nd half of 2020 " due to the sustained high demand for KTM , Husqvarna and the now 100 % owned GasGas brand of motorcycles ( especially in Europe , North America and Australia ) as well

as Husqvarna and R Raymon e-bikes and bicycles ". The Management Board increased the sales forecast published at the end of August 2020 for the second half of 2020 to over € 850m ( previously it was less than € 800m ). This means that sales for the second half of the year will be more than 10 % higher than the € 765.3m in the same period in 2019 . Annual Group sales of more than 1,450m are therefore expected for the financial year 2020 , with the e-bikes and bicycles division making a sales contribution of more than € 110m ; expected EBIT margin and the positive free cashflow outlook remain unchanged . PIERER Mobility ( PMAG ) also announced that it had used its own shares to take a 35 % stake in the German arm of Los Angeles headquartered digital platform DealerCenter Digital GmbH .

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