International Dealer News IDN 122 Dec/Jan 2014/15 | Page 14

news ROOM

Honda unit sales up as company
reaches 300m unit milestone
HONDA has announced that Group
Unit Sales were 4,581,000 units for
their second quarter this year (July September 2014) compared to
4,216,000 last year - an increase of
0.365 percent.
For the first half of their current
financial year, Group Unit Sales are up
by +0.448 percent at 8,718,000 units,
from 8,270,000 units for the first six

months of their 2013/2014 financial
year.
Group Unit Sales include
motorcycles made and sold by Honda
subsidiary and partner businesses;
Consolidated Unit Sales (the output
from Honda factories) were +0.158
percent for the second quarter
(2,743,000 units) and +0.244 percent
(5,200,000 units) for the first six

Launched at INTERMOT this year,
Honda's new Forza 125 is
"designed for those European
customers who demand more
from a 125cc scooter",
according to the company

months of their current financial year.
In other news Honda has
announced that its cumulative
worldwide motorcycle production
reached the 300 million unit milestone
in September.
At a ceremony to commemorate the
milestone at their Kumamoto Factory,

Honda's primary motorcycle
production plant in Japan, a 40th
anniversary edition Goldwing became
the 300 millionth unit to be produced,
in the 66th year since Honda began
motorcycle production in 1949 with
the Dream Type-D.
The Kumamoto factory was
established in 1976 and with an area
of approximately 1.6 million square
metres, it can produce 160,000 units
a year and employs some 2,600
people.

Daimler/MV Agusta deal confirmed
THE German sportscar and
performance brand MercedesAMG, part of the Daimler Group,
and motorcycle manufacturer
MV Agusta have signed a longterm sales and marketing
cooperation agreement.
At the same time, MercedesAMG GmbH will acquire a 25%
interest in MV Agusta Motor
S.p.A. - no details have been
disclosed about the price to be
paid for the stake in MV Agusta
Motor.
At a time when Harley-Davidson
itself continues to be the subject
of takeover rumors, Daimler's
investment in the former Harley
subsidiary will benefit from the
hundreds of million