Market reports – The motorcycle market on the rise –

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The motorcycle market on the rise

Market reports - The motorcycle market on the rise -

At the end of the first half of 2008, the French market for 125cc and over 125cc sets a new record with 129,181 registrations, ie 1.7% better than last year. Analysis of this positive start to the year, with the opinion of certain manufacturers.

With 129,181 motorcycles (motorized two-wheelers over 50cc) registered since January 1, 2008, the French market sets a new record, but it came close to !

With the number of days of "opening of concessions" – from Tuesday to Saturday for the majority – strictly equal (127 in 2007 as in 2008), the previous record which dated from the first half of 2007 was therefore broken by 2161 units (read).

Thus, the first half of 2008 ended with an increase of 1.7%, in which actively participated two Japanese manufacturers (Honda and Kawasaki) but also the majority of "Western" players (BMW, Triumph, Harley-Davidson, Ducati and Gilera in particular), just like other Asian manufacturers (mainly Sym, Kymco, Jonway, Sky Team and Hyosung).

Among the Japanese, Yamaha retains its position as number one in France with 25,392 registrations (+ 2.1% compared to the first half of 2007), but its market share remains below 20%. Behind, Honda (+ 6.2%) regains second place against Suzuki whose sales fell by 6.9%.

The fall in registrations of Piaggio (-20.8%) and the increase in those of Kawasaki (+ 5.8%) allow the Greens to join their Japanese comrades in the ranking – Kawasaki is therefore 4th -, but their absence on the market 125cc prevents them from generating the same volumes.

Behind Piaggio, BMW continues its ascent, approaching 5,000 registrations (4,988 to be exact!). As for Peugeot, whose sales fell by 9.7%, it sees Triumph (+ 42.9%) and Harley-Davidson (+ 20.8%) contesting its 7th place in the "general", even if the Lion should be able to keep it by the end of the year…

Indeed, the 125 market is less seasonal than that of large engines: while 59,000 motorcycles and 125 scooters have been regularly registered since the second half of 2006, the immates of large cubes are still higher in the first half than in the second..

To refine this half-yearly market analysis, Site invited the managers of the main manufacturers to comment on their "first results" for 2008: some have agreed to give us their impressions….

Among them, the new CEO of Honda France, Jean-Luc Mars, who retains – among others – this first quarter "soaring oil prices and the awareness by our fellow citizens that this is not a temporary crisis, but a profound and inevitable change".

"The upheavals in the way we manage our transport are not yet fully predictable", continues the new French boss,"but it seems obvious to me that the motorized two-wheeler has a formidable card to play in the years to come". New records in prospect ?

Market 125: 14,629 units (-1.7%)

In June, 14,629 125cc two-wheelers were registered in France, bringing the number of registrations since the start of the year to 59,096 units, slightly better than last year (58,671), or a low 0.7% increase.

Still at the head of the 125cc market, Yamaha has totaled 12,136 registrations at the end of these first six months, or 7.1% better than last year. This increase is due to his Xmax of course, but also more recently to his YZF-R125 !

The best seller Xmax therefore continues to crush the competition with 5,341 registrations against 3,295 for the Suzuki Burgman and 2,978 for the Peugeot Satelis, while for its part, the little sister of the R1 and R6 has already accumulated 1321 registrations in to hardly more than two months !

The tuning forks brand thus cut itself off a nice market share in France with 20.54%, a percentage that the smallest manufacturers (from the 11th cumulative rank) just manage to exceed with 21.78%. We should therefore find Yam ‘at the top of 125 cc sales at the end of the year, for the third consecutive time..

Second in the cumulative ranking, Piaggio does not meet the expected success with its duo XEvo and X7, much less efficient than the fine team of X9 and X8 was … Because if the XEvo is gradually climbing the top 15 sales by model (5th of the 2008 cumulative with 2579 immats), the X7 remains too far behind (794 sales including 196 last month).

As for the MP3, if it is now a "classic" figure among the 125 in France – at least in certain regions such as Ile-de-France – it will probably never achieve the success of its two-wheeled cousins. In the end, the Pontedera firm shows a decrease in its sales of 21% compared to the first half of 2007 and ends the first half of the year with an even greater fall: -28.4% in June! Mamma mia…

In third place this first half, Honda is only a few lengths behind the Italian: in market share, the Japanese is only 0.5% of Piaggio. And in June, the Japanese giant again allowed itself to overtake the Italian giant with 1970 immates against 1957 !

After a difficult start, the S-Wing seems to have acquired its cruising speed (2342 total immats), but it is unable to win against its sister, the Varadero, which still represents the best seller in "125cc motorcycle" with 2972 ​​registrations in six months !

Suzuki, on the other hand, can only count on its Burgman to appear in the top 15 sales by model. And the scooter of the Japanese Hamamatsu fits there well, second behind the irreparable Xmax: a remarkable performance !

Fifth in the manufacturer’s ranking, Peugeot Motocycles has let go of Suzuki: the French manufacturer has a total of 3,360 registrations against 4,139 for its Japanese counterpart. The Lion de Sochaux will therefore not reach the 10% of PDM targeted by its Satelis and Geopolis.

The Satelis – all versions combined, Compressor included – still occupies the 3rd step of the "podium" 125, with six units more than the Honda Varadero! It was in June that the French scooter regained its 3rd place, Peugeot posting a satisfactory + 17.4% increase compared to June 2007. Good news for the workers of Mandeure and Dannemarie? To be continued…

MBK, on ​​the other hand, ended its first half with a decrease of 7.1% compared to June 2007, bringing its slide over the whole of the first six months to -2.1%: its Skycruiser, twin of the Xmax, sold to 1468 copies. Is the network still too listed as "50cc" in the minds of the French? ?

Behind, the Taiwanese Sym leads the group of "non-Japanese Asians" with a number of registrations which amounted to 2,506 against 2,049 in the 1st half of 2007. This growth of 22.3% is just supplanted by that of Kymco: 8th , this second Taiwanese, however, achieves lower volumes: 1,884 registrations at the end of June.

"Sym is one of the fastest growing brands on the market, both in 50cc and 125cc. Difficult, as far as we are concerned, not to be satisfied with the beginning of 2008 !", rejoices Luc Jaquelin, director of Disalco Motors, which is responsible for importing Sym vehicles into France..

"However we perceive, like our competitors, a form of rampant lethargy which is due as much to the general economic climate as to the gloomy weather that we have been experiencing since the beginning of the year", notes the French boss interviewed by Site.

"These two combined elements weighed on the mood a bit, but there are still six months to go before the year draws a line … and optimism is a must at Sym !", Luc Jaquelin happily concludes. Answer at the beginning of January 2009 in the annual report and the interviews Site … Stay connected !

Also director of Motana France, importer of the Derbi brand, Luc Jaquelin also wishes to emphasize that with "a doubling of sales figures in 125 cc thanks to the excellent start of the Terra Classic and Adventure, Derbi is finding its place in style in the category of 125 motorcycles with character".

"It is also true that the fact that Derbi is currently leading the world speed championship with the French Mike di Meglio further strengthens the Derbi 125 range on the market.", explains the French representative. So when will a small replica of the n ° 63 be able to beat the Yam ‘R125 and Honda CBR125R? ?

Finally, the bottom of the table is particularly lively: the Chinese Jonway (1470 immats in six months) disputes the Taiwanese Kymco (1884) and the Korean Daelim (1762) for 8th place in the ranking … "In the first half of 2008, we can see that the balance of power between the major regions of origin stabilized", noted Jean-Luc Mars, new CEO of Honda France.

"We even see a drop in the market share of Chinese brands and a rise in Japanese brands.", continues Jean-Luc Mars:"clearly, the period of entry into the market of new Chinese players, both as manufacturers and distributors, is now almost over. I think that we will see a consolidation, even a decline for some distributors".

"I also see, from the inside now, that Japanese manufacturers, and Honda in particular, are well armed to face the new situation.", concludes the big boss of Honda France, whose words are confirmed by the latest figures:" his "new Lead 110 appears in June in 13th place in the classification by models, just behind the Jonway JS120…

And for the fourth consecutive month, the “other” manufacturers actually recorded a drop in their sales compared to 2007: -11.1% over the month of June and -1% over the whole of the first six months. So last month, we found in descending order Sky Team (324 registrations), Aprilia (234), Keeway (208), Yiying (165), Hyosung (154), Revatto (145), Gilera (124), Jinlun (97), Derbi (120), Jilun (117), Jmstar (103), Baotian (93), Znen (64), Qingqi (56), Fym (52) and CF Moto (42).

Market over 125: 13,086 units (-8.2%)

"Even if the market was a little disturbed by the capricious weather in spring, the continuous rise of the market "more than 125 cc" (+ 2.6% at the end of June) shows us that the passion of bikers does not fear the rain and that the pleasure is well worth a little downpour !", immediately remarks Patrick Marchal, Sales and Marketing Director of Kawasaki France.

With 70,085 registrations – another record! -, the large-engine market ended the first half of 2008 with an encouraging increase of + 2.6% compared to the first six months of 2007. But not all manufacturers are in the same boat, far from it….

Also the first manufacturer in "more than 125" at the end of the first half of 2008, Yamaha is ahead of Suzuki by only 39 units! Because if sales of Yamaha fell by 2% this first half compared to 2007, those of Suzuki fell by 9.8%…

"Since the end of April, we can observe a downward trend in the market, especially in large-displacement motorcycles.", remarks for his part Alexandre Kowalski, director of communication Yamaha Motor France, whose registration numbers fell again by 7.9% last month (against 13.6% for Suzuki).

"We can also note a strengthening of the general market mix in favor of the scooter, thus demonstrating the general change in the market: more and more traffic jams, limited speed, etc..", continues the French manager. As proof," his "Tmax is illustrated again in June (729 immats) and consolidates its 2nd place in the ranking of sales by model !

At Suzuki, we must therefore regret the more agreed image of the Burgman 650, which nevertheless pointed to the end of its headlight in the top 15 of the month of June 2007 … But faced with the new Tmax, the Suzuki maxi scooter had to s’ admit defeat and the arrival of the Gilera GP800 should not make his life easier … Will Suzuki dare to launch a more sporty Burgman, with an SV1000 engine for example? To be continued…

The Bandit 650 (3,314 registrations in six months against 4,382 for the best seller, the Kawasaki Z750), the GSR 600 (1832) and the SV 650 (1483 Naked and S versions), however, remain safe values ​​in the mid-capacity roadster category. . And the 203 sales of GSX-R 750 in June will certainly have given the builder some balm. !

The Yamaha / Suzuki fight in the second half of 2008 promises to be thrilling … just like the one between Honda and Kawasaki !

With 10,890 motorcycles and scooters over 125cc sold, Honda narrowly saves its third place in the aggregate of the first six months. Its Hornet is "only" 6th in the classification by models (2784 immats), but its 2008 novelties are defending themselves well: the CBF600 is 8th with 1323 sales and the Transalp 15th with 1014. They frame the CBF1000, new for 2007 which has accumulated 1076 registrations since January 2008.

Another asset placed in the Honda game: the Goldwing that the "motorcycle taxis" recently bought in large numbers: 663 GL1800 sold this first semester against 947 for the whole of 2007! Something to make many GT road cars jealous…

Kawasaki side, even if the third place slips through the fingers of the Ninjas, the Greens say to themselves "very satisfied with the first months of the year which confirm our progress over the past four years", Patrick Marchal tells Site.

"Thanks to the constant success of the Z750 (first motorcycle sale in France since 2005) and of the ER-6, as well as the confirmed success of our new models (ZX-10R, 1400GTR), we are making progress over the first six months of 2008 + 8.35% on a market over 125cc, up 2.6%", specifies the communication and marketing manager of Kawasaki France..

The recent drops in Kawasaki sales (-25.9% compared to June 2007) do not worry the Greens too much, since the figures for May and June 2007 had been somewhat inflated by the late arrival of the new Zs. all this should settle down for the start of the school year…

Still 5th largest manufacturer in France, BMW draws very positive results from this first half of 2008: "the "500 cc and +" competitive market was + 4.7% at the end of June. In this context, BMW is doing better with + 7.3%", notes Jean-Michel Cavret, CEO of BMW Motorrad France.

"We are "tangent" the 5000 registrations (4988) and have good reason to believe that we will beat a new record in France at the end of 2008, thanks to the strong implication of our dealers, to our rich range of 20 models and to our new in 2008 (R1200GS and R1200GS Adventure, F 650-800GS, HP2 Sport and in September G 450 X)", details for Site the big boss of Behème in France.

Best seller last year in "more than 750cc", the R1200RT is for the moment dethroned by the Yamaha FZ1, but whatever: BMW is the first manufacturer in this category. Jean-Michel Cavret even emphasizes that "two BMWs are in the top 5 of the best sales in "more than 750 cc": the R1200RT (1141 immats) is held at an excellent level, and the GS whose success is growing in France. In this respect, let us note the 1058 immats of the new R 1200 GS, to be compared to the 1178 for the whole of 2007.".

Although beaten by Harley-Davidson in June (770 sales against 859), Triumph managed to keep its 6th place in the manufacturers’ ranking: with 3,547 motorcycles registered, the Englishman steals his customary 6th place from the American … 23 units near !

"Contrasted", the analysis of Eric Pecoraro, marketing director at Triumph France insists with Site on"the fall for two months in sales of motorcycles over 500cc (- 9.2% in June)"…

But "this fall particularly affects Japanese brands", rebounds Eric Pecoraro who drives the point home again:"It should be noted that in June, the market share of the four Japanese brands was historically low with 65% market share against 72.5% in June 2007 on this market of more than 500cc"…

"For our part, we are very satisfied with the start of the year, because our new Street Triple and Speed ​​Triple products are appreciated by this new biker clientele who increasingly have a desire for marked individuality.", says Eric Pecoraro:"the speed Triple even allows itself, in June, to be the best-selling 1000cc roadster in France", with 190 registrations against 187 for the FZ1 and 185 for the Z1000.

A "chance", therefore, that the factories of Hinckley do not have the same output as the factories of the Japanese giants? We would end up meeting Speed ​​and Street (320 immats last month) on every street corner !

Behind, KTM ends its first half of 2008 with a decrease of 6.2% of its registrations compared to 2007. The Austrian is therefore the only non-Japanese manufacturer to see its results decrease: from 2455 immats in the first half of 2007, it passes to 2304 in 2008.

Nothing very worrying … In addition to the drop in sales of off-road models, Katoche has observed a drop in those of its Superduke, which the Superbike RC8 cannot cover with its 43 sales since the beginning of January. Will the second semester smile more for the Mattighofen firm ?

Ducati, on the contrary, presents a very positive assessment: with + 10.3% at the end of the first six months, the Italian has 2.74% of French PDM, against a little more than 5% for Triumph and Harley and 3, 29% for KTM. At the origin of the good health of the Bologna plant: the 848 which seduced 409 motorcyclists and the Mostro 696 which bewitched 285 in three months.

Tenth in the standings, Gilera is taking full advantage of the launch of its two new models: the Fuoco 500 (160 registrations in six months) and the GP800 (532). The sports brand of Piaggio therefore shows a phenomenal increase of 324%! It must be said that last year, the Nexus 500 did not attract crowds against the Tmax…

Finally, last June, the "other" manufacturers suffered a decrease in their sales of 15.1%: Piaggio registered 142 vehicles, Aprilia 107, Buell 93, Gas Gas 91, Peugeot 79, Moto Guzzi 67, Beta 34, Scorpa 24, Kymco 23, MV Agusta 21, Sherco and HM 18, Husqvarna 17, Sym 13 and Derbi 12. As for Voxan, the Issoire brand did not register a motorcycle this month…

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