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Owned by Indian conglomerate TVS , British comeback kids Norton Motorcycle has hired former Manchester United Football Club CEO Richard Arnold as its new Chief Executive Officer .
MV Agusta ' s new President and CEO , Hubert Trunkenpolz is quoted as saying that though now under the PIERER Mobility AG umbrella , there are no current plans for MV to share engines with the other Pierer brands - excepting perhaps for MV to share KTM engines if they make it onto the MotoGP from 2027 . Trunkenpolz is the grandson of KTM founder Hans Trunkenpolz ( the ' T ' in ' KTM ') and a KTM board member .
Ducati delivered 32,098 motorcycles in the first six months of 2024 , down by -8.6 % on the 35,120 deliveries in the first half of 2023 . Revenue was € 606m ( H1 2023 : € 663m ), while operating profit fell to € 92m ( H1 2023 : € 116m ). The operating margin amounted to 15.1 % ( H1 2023 : 17.6 %).
For Q1 of its FY 2024 / 2025 ( the period from April - June 2024 ), Suzuki reports total global motorcycle production of 520,000 units , up by + 9.5 % (+ 45,000 units ) over the year-ago , with global sales totalling 523,000 units (+ 8.9 %). European sales were flat at 13,000 units . North American sales were also flat at 11,000 units . Asian sales were massively up at 433,000 units (+ 36 %), with India by far its largest market ( 247,000 units , + 54 %), followed by China , which was down by -19 % at 104,000 units . Total consolidated revenue from motorcycle activities was up at 104.819bn yen ( 85.9bn yen in Q1 of 2023 ). Revenue from motorcycle activities in Europe was fractionally up (+ 0.4 %) at 15.2bn yen . United States motorcycle activity revenue was essentially flat (+ 0.1 %) at 11.5bn yen .
In July , Kawasaki conducted the world ' s first public demonstration run of a hydrogen ICE ( internal combustion engine ) motorcycle ( by a mass-production motorcycle manufacturer ) at the Suzuka Circuit in Japan ( on the occasion of the ' Coca Cola ' Suzuka 8-Hour ). Designed and built as part of research that began in March 2023 , the machine has a hydrogen engine based on the 998 cm3 in-line four supercharged engine found in Kawasaki ' s Ninja H2 , with modifications made to allow direct injection of hydrogen fuel into the cylinders . The motorcycle ' s chassis was designed to accommodate hydrogen fuel canisters and a hydrogen fuel supply system on-board .
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positive trend in overall demand in Europe , driven primarily by the lowprice segment ( Chinese imports ), was offset by a decline in demand in North America as well as in Asia , Australia and New Zealand . In this environment , PIERER Mobility succeeded in maintaining or achieving a market share of over 10 % in each of the key markets of Europe , the USA and China ". The company says that " significant improvements expected in H2 2024 " as it has " taken measures to improve earnings ". Moving forward , these will additionally include " the reduction of an additional 200 employees in the overhead area . Together with the cost reductions and personnel adjustments already made in the first half of the year , this will secure and strengthen the competitiveness of PIERER Mobility AG in the long term . " The reduction in production volumes by around 25 % in 2024 is intended to relieve pressure on the product pipeline and dealer warehouses . This will lead to a significant reduction in capital
Earnings performance :
H1 2023 H1 2024 Revenue (€/ m ) 1,388 1,007 EBITDA (€/ m ) 179 -102 EBIT (€/ m ) 97 -195 Employees 6,314 6,024
commitment and therefore also in net debt . " Another focus is on increasing efficiency in product development . The focus is on aligning and prioritising activities as part of the Group ' s premium brand strategy as well as streamlining and accelerating development processes . Following on from this , we are leveraging further synergies in research and development with our strategic partners ". The loss-making bicycle division is to be " systematically restructured . The realignment already initiated in the 2023 financial year , with a focus on the premium segment , will be implemented and completed in 2024 ". An increase in net debt of € 1,469m was due to the negative result as well as the increased capital commitment - including " the necessary support for the global dealer network . As a result of the packages of measures , working capital , and therefore net debt , will return to a significantly lower level by the end of 2025 . The necessary financing requirements have been secured ".
PIERER Mobility AG : Economically volatile and difficult conditions led to a negative result in H1 2024 , outlook for the full year confirmed :
• Results in H1 2024 negative , but in line with the current outlook for the 2024 financial year
• Significant improvement expected in H2
• Working capital remains at a high level , significant improvements expected at the end of 2024 and in 2025
• Increased net debt , but solid financing structure
• Motorcycle market : challenging market environment - Europe slightly positive , North America , Australia and China declining , India positive
• MV Agusta integration process going according to plan
• Bicycle market : persistent oversupply on the market necessitated value adjustments , focus on the premium segment
• Full-year outlook for 2024 confirmed
The 2025 Super Adventure is to get semi-automatic transmission .
10 INTERNATIONAL DEALER NEWS - SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2024 www . idnmag . com