B&B also reports the KBA data saying that as of 1 January 2018 there are 538,029 BMW motorcycles registered in Germany, followed by 519,215 Yamaha, 503,310 Suzuki, 427,352 Honda and 354,396 Kawasaki motorcycles.
CF Moto and KTM broke ground on the building of their new joint venture production facility in China in March. CF Moto GM Minjie Lai is quoted as saying the joint venture will bring CF Moto’s R&D and manufacturing capability “to a whole new level. CF Moto will benefit from KTM’s advanced technology and experience; KTM recognize how our manufacturing capacity, supply chain management and channel development could help them to implement their global strategy”.
iMotorsports recently announced the launch of Route 66 Indian Motorcycle. The addition of the Indian motorcycle line to iMotorsports’ Elmhurst, Illinois location follows the successful acquisition and operation of two authorized Indian dealerships in Florida - Indian Motorcycle of Orlando and St. Pete Powersports of St. Petersburg.
Fast Bike Industries of Hendersonville, North Carolina, U.S. importer for Italian suspension specialist Andreani Group, has also take on the British made Nitron range of shock absorbers and front suspension cartridge kits. The company says it currently sells to over 170 powersports industry dealers nationally.
Although the number of overall road deaths in Germany fell in 2017 (-0.9 percent, 3,206), motorcyclist deaths rose by +8.6 percent over 2016 (689).
BMW has been awarded the 2018 JEC Innovation Award in the Leisure and Sports category for the development and manufacture of a carbon fiber rear swingarm (as used on its HP4 race bike). Established in 1996, the JEC Group is described as “the world’s leading specialist organization for the development, manufacture and processing of composite materials”.
Following news that it had moved its U.S. headquarters to Plano, Texas, Canadian BRP, maker of Sea-Doo watercraft and Ski-Doo snowmobiles, is reported to be poised to spend some $385 million on acquisitions to expand its product line-up. Group sales in 2017 are reported at $3.4 bn, and CEO Jose Boisjoli is targeting growth to $4.6 bn by 2020.
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission’s (CPSC) 2016 annual report of “ATV-Related Deaths and Injuries” (issued January 2018) once again affirms the decade-long downward trend in fatalities and injuries related to ATVs - down -29% for the period 2007 to 2013.
BRP has garnered six prestigious Red Dot product design awards for its Sea-Doo Spark Trixx PWC, Can-Am Maverick X3 and Trail SxS vehicles, Evinrude E-TEC 150-200hp G2 outboard engine, Ski-Doo snowmobile REV Gen4 platform and LinQ snowboard/ski rack for Ski-Doo snowmobiles.
As part of its Electro Mobility Strategy, BMW is investing € 200 m in a new “battery cell competence center” that will open in 2019 near its Munich headquarters in Germany. Among other objectives, the center will harness the group’s research so far into battery-cell development and production, and BMW is on record as saying that it plans to be using game-changing solid state battery technology in at least some of its vehicles by 2026. Where will Harley be building its 21st Century R&D campus, one wonders?