European PTW Leaders Buck Sinking Market
2013/04/01 | By Quincy Liang
Piaggio Group, Italian Market Leader
In 2012, the Piaggio Group strengthened its leadership of the Italian two-wheeler market, with its overall share rising to 30.3%, an improvement of 2.3 percentage points from 2011. Piaggio Group, which include Piaggio, Gilera, Moto Guzzi, Derbi, Aprilia, Vespa, Ape, Scarabeo PTW brands, and Piaggio Commercial Vehicle.
According to figures published recently by Confindustria ANCMA (National Association for the Bicycle, Motorcycle and Accessory Industry), a body representing Italy's leading PTW names, the Piaggio Group closed 2012 with strong performance in the scooter segment, assisted in part by registrations of the Liberty scooters purchased by the Italian Post Office. The group boosted its share of the domestic scooter market to 38.3% in 2012, a 2.3 percentage point improvement from 2011. Piaggio's share of the Italian motorcycle market at the end of 2012 was stable at around 6.0%, the group reported a 0.3 percentage point market share gain in the over 700cc segment, boosting its share to 7.5% for 2012.
Piaggio attributed the strong results to the positive market response to large motorbike models recently debuted under its Moto Guzzi and Aprilia brands. At the end of 2012, the Piaggio Group launched its eagerly awaited Moto Guzzi California 1400 Touring motorcycle. In the first two months of 2013 it will launch the California 1400 Custom and the new Aprilia Caponord road enduro bike, powered by a 1200cc V-twin engine.
BMW Motorrad Chalks Up Record Sales in 2012
In 2012, Germany-based PTW maker BMW Motorrad sold a record 106,358 motorcycles and maxi scooters worldwide, a 2.0% increase from 104,286 units sold in the previous year. December 2012 deliveries increased by 43.4% to 6,069 units, up from 4,232 units in the same month the year before.
The company's strongest single market in 2012 was Germany once again. A total of 20,516 vehicles were sold domestically, around one-fifth of the total. The second and third largest markets were the United States (12,100 units) and France (10,950 units), respectively. Italy was the fourth biggest market (10,200 units), slipping from the number two spot as the country struggled with a limping economy. Brazil moved up to fifth place with 7,442 units. BMW Motorrad says that four models are now produced for Brazil in response to the growing importance of this market.
BMW Motorrad also retained the market crown in the over 500cc segments in Germany, Italy and Spain.
R 1200 GS, Most Successful BMW Motorcycle.
BMW Motorrad said that the big travel enduro R 1200 GS with air-cooled boxer engine was once again the most successful BMW motorcycle model, with 17,249 units shipped. The next most popular models were the F 800 GS (11,487 units) and the R 1200 GS Adventure (10,203 units), followed by the superbike S 1000 RR (8,970 units) and the touring classic R 1200 RT (7,909 units). The super touring bikes K 1600 GT and GTL were also high on the popularity scale, with 10,033 units sold.
Of BMW Motorrad's record-breaking results, company president Stephan Schaller remarked that, "We have achieved this magnificent retail success in the context of a very difficult motorcycle market, especially in Europe."
Husqvarna Motorcycle Sales up 15.7%
Husqvarna Motorcycles AG of BMW Group, a major off-road-bike brand, supplied 10,751 vehicles to its global dealer network from January to December, 2012, up 15.7% year-on-year (YoY) from 9,286 units.
Supplies in December alone totaled 1,267 vehicles, down 4.7% from the same month in 2011. Husqvarna claims that its most popular models in the single-cylinder sports segment (enduro, supermoto, motocross) were 250/310cc (2,758 units) and 449/511cc (1,627 units) bikes.
In on-road motorcycle segment, the company shipped 1,936 Nuda 900 and Nuda 900R motorcycles and 1,321 TR 650 Terra and TR 650 Strada motorclcyles in December 2012.
European Market
While Piaggio and BMW turned in strong performance, the European Union (EU) PTW market flagged overall in 2012.
PTW registrations in the countries monitored by the Association of Motorcycle Manufacturers in Europe (ACEM) fell by 12.57% during the first three quarters of 2012. The two-digit drop, while sizeable, marks a stabilization of the negative trend observed since the beginning of the year, the association says.
The decoupling of the motorcycle and moped (under-50cc displacements) segments has become more apparent, also highlighting the divergent performance of southern and northern markets. Motorcycle sales are up in Austria (8.8%), Norway (4.3%), the U.K. (1.6%) and Germany (0.3%), while the moped segment has borne the brunt of the crisis, with sales plunging by 42% in Greece, 31.6% in Italy, 19.2% in Spain, and 16.2% in the Netherlands, ACEM's data shows.
During the first three quarters of 2012, sales of over 50cc motorcycles retreated by 10.3%, while moped demand slid by 16.5% compared to the same period in 2011.
France, the largest EU market in the segment, reported a 9.5% drop in registrations in the third quarter compared to the same period in 2011, while Germany registrations declined by 3.4% year-on-year in the same period.
The picture in Southern Europe was similar, though more pronounced. The number of registrations fell by 22% in Italy, 18.4% in Spain, and 34% in Greece, reflecting economic difficulties in the three countries, the association pointed out.
In the U.K. PTW sales are back in the black at 0.3%, after a brief summer slow-down. In September 2012, 104,686 PTWs were sold in the countries monitored by the quarterly report of ACEM's statistical service, compared to 131,483 in September 2011, representing a 20.4% drop.
Outside the EU area, a positive trend continued, the ACEM says, with a 5.6% gain in Switzerland and 6.3% increase in Norway.
