First half of 2015: Kawasaki’s market report

Kawasaki has just completed the first half of 2015 with a drop of -6% and has a total of 7,126 registrations. The marketing manager of the Japanese brand in France, Antoine Coulon, delivers his impressions to MNC readers. First assessment…

Site: After six years of constant decline, the French motorcycle market returned to growth in 2014 with + 2.5% (read our). In the first half of 2015, the increase was limited to + 0.8% (read our). Should we be worried ?
Antoine Coulon, Kawasaki France marketing and press relations manager: We are indeed witnessing a very slight decline compared to 2014. However, the French market remains at levels above 2013, which is a very good thing. Moreover, if we look at the trends in a more global way, most of the markets of developed countries (such as Great Britain, Germany, USA, etc.) have returned to good market levels since 2008 and the subprime crisis..

MNC: Regarding Kawasaki, what is your assessment of your first six months of 2015? ?
A. C .: The ER-6n and the Z800 are real best sellers and still meet with great success. Our novelties, the Versys 650, the Versys 1000, the Vulcan S and the bubbling Z300, have made a very good start to their careers. In terms of market share, we are therefore very happy with our results for the first half of the year. We would like to thank the bikers who chose us and our dealers who fight to defend our colors in all regions of France..

MNC: For you, what is the highlight of this first half of the year? ?
A. C .: Delivery of the first Ninja H2Rs to our dealers. We are living a unique moment with the arrival of the most powerful production motorcycle in motorcycle history. And in addition to being overpowered, she is splendid! It really is the motorcycle of all superlatives! Admittedly it is very exclusive, but it will be joined next January by an approved and more accessible version, the H2.

MNC: How is your second semester going? ?
A. C .: It is presenting well and will be a continuation of the first semester. We are actively preparing for the Paris Salon. This year there will be only one week of difference between the Milan and Paris shows. French motorcycle enthusiasts will be able to discover all the 2016 novelties almost simultaneously with transalpine enthusiasts.

MNC: Finally, the government has still not settled the question of the "retrofit" (read). How much does this lack of response impact your business ?
A. C .: This is a sensitive point on several levels. Firstly, for the manufacturers it is a question of knowing what to offer to the market (indeed in the absence of retrofit, the Euro 3 motorcycles will have to continue to be manufactured in "configuration 100 ch"). Second, our dealers need to know if their used vehicle inventory will be changeable or will have to remain limited to 100 hp. Finally, our customers, our fans, who ride our machines today, are impatient to know if they will soon be able to find the full pleasure of their machine. They are awaiting this decision. We are therefore all very concerned by this subject. We trust the CSIAM which represents us and which progresses step by step on this subject.

Interview by Matthieu BRETILLE

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