THE BRADLEY REPORT
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THE BRADLEY REPORT
NEWS
BRIEFS
Citing unfavourable economic conditions in Europe , PIERER Mobility , the Austrian KTM , Husqvarna , GasGas and , nowadays , MV Agusta parent company , has announced a partial relocation of production and R & D activities to China ( CFMOTO ) and India ( Bajaj Auto ). Affecting individual midrange models and defined R & D activities , the company says this is intended to exploit cost advantages in these regions and accelerate development and industrialisation processes . There will be a reduction of some 300 employees at the Austrian locations in 2024 .
One of the characteristics that has made KTM parent company PIERER Mobility so successful is never being afraid to roll back on business activities , even if it involves prior acquisitions , and to do so in a timely manner if perceived need arises . The company has announced its intention to revert to focusing on its KTM , GasGas , Husqvarna and ( now ) MV Agusta core brands with divestment of Raymon and FELT brands and its non-e-bicycle division . Electric bicycles ( e-bicycles ) from the Husqvarna and GasGas brands are being promoted and expanded in order to further strengthen activities in the field of electromobility .
BRP has bought a controlling 80 % stake in Pinion GmbH - a manual and electric bicycle gearbox tech specialist founded in 2008 at Denkendorf , Germany . " Beyond our existing powersports and marine products , we are expanding our addressable market and entering untapped categories such as urban mobility and services ," said José Boisjoli , President and CEO of BRP . Earlier in 2023 , BRP also acquired e-drive systems and transmissions Great Wall Motor Austria GmbH from its Chinese parent company .
Yamaha Motor Co ., Ltd . has announced that it has established Berlin based ENYRING GmbH as a new company that will offer swappable batteries for compact urban electric vehicles via subscription-based services . By offering such services , and by reusing and recycling batteries together with European circularity leaders , ENYRING will be able to create a closed loop in which recycled materials are used as resources toward creating new products .
Benelli Leoncino 350 V-twin based on QJMotor SRV 350 cruiser By Ben Purvis
Design registrations filed by Benelli ' s parent company Qianjiang have revealed a planned V-twin Leoncino 350 model long before it ' s officially unveiled . There ' s no mistaking the signature fuel tank design on the new bike , with a large circular badge set into a scooped-out section on each side to match the other models in the Benelli Leoncino family , and there ' s even readable ' Leoncino ' script on each side of the machine , using the same font as the current Benelli models . However , the bike underneath these parts is very different to any other Leoncino variant . At the moment , Benelli has a range of Leoncino-branded roadsters from 125 cc to 800 cc , all sharing a common set of styling cues . This new model breaks that mould , introducing a more cruiser-like stance and underpinnings , including a V-twin engine , a twinshock chassis and a stubby-tailed set of bodywork with overtones of muscle-cruisers like the Yamaha V- Max . The V-twin engine and steel frame appear to be borrowed from the SRV 350 cruiser made by Benelli ' s sister company QJMotor . The suspension , radiator , forward-mounted foot controls and even the wheels and brakes appear to be straight from the
PIERER Mobility AG , the parent company of KTM , Husqvarna , GasGas , and by the spring of 2026 , the full owner of MV Agusta , has announced provisional turnover figures for 2023 of between € 2,650m and € 2,670m (+ 9 %). This is for KTM , Husqvarna and GasGas only at this stage , and represents record unit sales of 381,634 motorcycles (+ 2 %) and 157,358 e-bicycles and bicycles (+ 33 %). Also expected to be a record , PIERER Mobility says it expects consolidated sales revenue of between € 2,650m and € 2,670m for the 2023 financial year , which represents an increase of around + 9 % compared to the previous year . Of the 381,634 units sold , European sales totalled some 140,000 motorcycles with around two thirds of
SRV 350 , but the Benelli version adopts a less traditional cruiser style and gets a revised version of the 343 cc V-twin engine . Visible engine changes include new cylinder heads with faux cooling fins and a forward-jutting air intake on the left-hand side . The twin stacked muffler looks much the same as the QJMotor version . In other news , new Chinese typeapproval documents show that Benelli is preparing a new 902S that looks all but identical to the existing 752S , but with a huge increase in power . The 752S ' s existing 754 cc parallel twin can trace its heritage back to the three-cylinder engine that revived the Benelli brand in the late 1990s . Taking a cylinder off the later 1131 cc version of that triple resulted in the twin that ' s still used today in a range of bikes including the Leoncino 800 , Leoncino 800 Trail and the 752S - so the advent of a larger-capacity version could have implications for all of those models . The new Chinese documents show that the 902S has a 904 cc capacity ( the ' 902 ' name means ' 900 cc , 2 cylinder ' rather than being an exact measure of the bike ' s engine size ). The extra cubes come from the 92 mm bore ( from 88 mm ), along with stroke that ' s upped from 62 mm to 68 mm .
PIERER Mobility - record turnover and sales in 2023
motorcycles ( some 240,000 units ) sold in markets outside Europe - particularly in North America , India and Australia . The Bicycle Division also increased sales
According to the same documents , the power increase that comes from this growth is remarkable . The paperwork says the new engine manages 77 kW ( 103 bhp ), up from 56 kW ( 75 hp ) for the current 754 cc version . Previously , Benelli has also filed documents for a 799 cc version of the engine making 71 kW ( 95 hp ), but that has yet to appear in a production model .
by around + 33 % and sold 157,358 e- bicycles and bicycles ( previous year : 118,465 ). www . pierermobility . com
24 INTERNATIONAL DEALER NEWS - MARCH / APRIL 2024 www . idnmag . com