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This is expected to have a significant negative impact on EBIT and the financial result in the current financial year ". The tighter cost management and reduction of production volumes in Austria are said to be due to the production costs of motorbikes in Europe having " risen due to high wage settlements and increasing costs in connection with regulations and bureaucracy , putting a strain on competitiveness . Production volumes are therefore being significantly reduced at the production site in Mattighofen , Austria ". At the same
' cost-reduction measures '
time , the company is tightening cost management throughout the Group . " With the growth in sales figures over the last ten years , the number of employees at the motorbike subsidiary KTM AG has more than doubled . In view of the changed location and market situation , the number of employees has now had to be adjusted . This reduction in personnel after years of rising employment is painful , but necessary in order to maintain and secure the competitiveness of the production site ". The Group says that another priority in 2024 is to increase efficiency in product development . " The focus will be on aligning and prioritising activities in line with the Group ' s premium brand strategy and streamlining development processes . Following on from this , joint research and development with the strategic partner Bajaj Auto in India and the JV partner CFMOTO in
Danish brakes manufacturer SBS Friction A / S has announced that it has achieved IATF 16949 : 2016 certification . Developed by the International Automotive Task Force , IATF 16949 certification is a mandatory industry requirement that aligns automotive quality management systems throughout the world . Obtaining the IATF 16949 certification demonstrates that a company has met extensive requirements to create a process of continuous improvement with an emphasis on defect prevention and reduction of variation and waste in the supply chain . As a Tier-1 and Tier-2 supplier of highperformance brake pads for OEM and aftermarket brake pads for
China will be expanded at the respective locations ". Due to the increasingly fragile supplier industry in Europe , the PIERER Mobility Group is " utilising the favourable economic conditions in these regions to secure its competitiveness . An efficient and high-quality supplier industry is being established there . For the 2024 financial year , the PIERER Mobility Executive Board says it expects a decline in sales of 10 % to 15 % for both the motorcycle and bicycle divisions due to the current market developments . In the Motorcycles segment , the Executive Board assumes that the cost savings introduced in the current financial year will be able to compensate for the negative effects of declining sales to such an extent that a balanced to slightly positive EBIT can be generated . " The development of existing dealers and the further expansion of the dealer network to support the brand strategy will be key issues in 2024 ". Earlier this year ( March 27 , 2024 ), KTM parent company PIERER Mobility confirmed 2023 total sales revenue of € 2.661m (+ 9.2 %), with EBIT at € 160m and EBITDA of € 323.5m " despite difficult economic conditions and a radical change in the bicycle industry ". This was on sales of 381,555 motorcycles (+ 1.6 %) and 57,358 bicycles (+ 33 %). At the time , the company also announced that it had accepted that negative free cash flow of € -413.0m ( compared to € -2.8m in 2022 ) was a price worth paying in order to maintain a capital and R & D investment
motorcycles , scooters and side-by-side vehicles , today the certification builds on top of the company ’ s already existing ISO 90001 certification and will be complementary to the ECE R90 certification . " The certification has been implemented to improve workflow processes and confirm the brake programme into further growth that equated to 9.2 % of sales with approx . € 195.1m invested in product development and tooling and € 88.9m in operating facilities and infrastructure . Thanks to the company ' s strong equity base and long-term financing , it has sufficient long-term liquidity reserves available to allow it to make decisions
' number of employees has now had to be adjusted '
like that - of the 6,184 employees it had at the end of last year ( around 5,000 of them in Austria ), the R & D workforce was some 1,300 employees - around 21 % of the total workforce , with approx . € 3.9m invested in the training and development programme for employees , including around 220 apprentices . Impressive stuff , which goes a long way to explaining the financial resilience that has allowed it to make so many business development moves in recent years and introduce so many new models - 72 new and revised models from the three core brands , with 280,206 KTM motorcycles sold , 67,462 Husqvarna motorcycles sold and 29,532 GasGas motorcycles sold in the 2023 financial ye ar - that is in addition to the motorcycles sold by MV Agusta ( 1,852 ) and CFMOTO ( 2,503 ) - with around two-thirds of PTW sales sold in markets outside Europe .
SBS becomes IATF-certified
manufacturer ' s continued commitment to producing best-ofindustry quality brake products for OEM and aftermarket and enable expansion of its business activities therein and production efficiency ," says leading Quality Manager at SBS , Gitte Hviid Larsen . " With our ECE R90 and ISO 90001 certifications , we already work daily to ensure high quality and reliability for motorcycle riders and customers all over the world . The IATF certification is required by many industrial OEM vehicle manufacturers , and we are now in a better position to service these from the SBS production facility in Denmark , together with the rest of the Brembo Group . www . sbs . dk
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Yamaha is under investigation for improper vehicle testing in Japan . It is claimed that Yamaha had falsified reports regarding sound pressure level tests for the YZF-R1 , YZF-R3 and TMAX . A Yamaha USA statement said that " the issue recently announced in Japan affects domestic distribution only . It does not affect overseas production units ".
In a year that sees them celebrating its 20th anniversary , DNA Filters has announced that it has renewed its sponsoring of the Easy Racing Team , the reigning 2023 ESBK champions , for a second consecutive year .
Piaggio Group has won a patent infringement dispute with Peugeot . The case centred on a Piaggio MP3 Scooter patent , with Peugeot Motocycles Italia sentenced to pay damages for more than one million euro . The court found that the control system on the Peugeot Metropolis , which enables a three-wheel vehicle to tilt sideways like a conventional motorcycle , had infringed the Italian portion of a Piaggio & C . S . p . A . European patent . The outcome of the legal action has also resulted in Piaggio being able to enforce a ban on Peugeot Metropolis sales in Italy .
B & B reports that German electric scooter manufacturer Emco ( ElectroMobility Company - Lingen ) has taken over the assets , sales and service of the UNU brand . Following its insolvency late last year , the UNU brand will continue to exist , with the approx . 10,000 existing UNU customers able to use Emco ' s 480 partner workshops in Germany . Emco Electroller GmbH Managing Director Gavin von Schweinitz : " We are determined to successfully integrate the UNU brand into our portfolio . Emco and UNU will together play a leading role in this exciting future market ."
The 2024 Michelin Grand Prix de France , at Le Mans in May , set a new all-time record to become the best-attended MotoGP event in history with some 297,471 fans in attendance . The previous record was set at the 2023 French GP , with 278,805 fans joining MotoGP to celebrate the 1,000th Grand Prix .
Dutch gear and apparel specialist REV ' IT ! has opened a new flagship store at its Denver , Colorado U . S . headquarters - its first ' brick-andmortar ' store in the United States .
www . idnmag . com INTERNATIONAL DEALER NEWS - JULY / AUGUST 2024 11
Sources : AMD , IDN , FT , Reuters , PSB , MPN , BDN , MCN , AP , Bloomberg , MSNW , Electrek , electricmotorcycles . news , RideApart . com , Motor1 . com , Cycle World , motorbikewriter . com