H-D was in sixth spot in market share terms for the first eight months of the year in Germany, having sold 5,821 units for a 6.57% market share. Inevitably, BMW remained market share leader in its home market, with seven models in the top 30 for a 21.56% share (19,098 units YTD), ahead of Honda, Kawasaki, Yamaha and KTM.
Zero is the electric motorcycle market leader in Germany for the first eight months of 2022 with 266 units sold for a 23.35% share of Germany's electric motorcycle market. Vmoto is second, with KTM third, Energica fourth and, interestingly, H-D in fifth with 33 units sold YTD for a 2.90% share in one of Europe's most receptive markets where the gospel of EV is concerned.
The 2023 Mission Foods AMA Flat Track Grand Championship is to run June 14-20 at the Du Quoin State Fairgrounds in Du Quoin, Ill. This is the only event in the USA where amateur riders can compete for an AMA National No. 1 plate in amateur flat track racing.
According to the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB), United States motorcycle thefts increased again in 2021, by 26% over the 2019 figure, having been down by -3% in 2020. California again leads the nation in total thefts with 9,345 bikes stolen, followed by Texas (4,263), Florida (3,698), New York (2,662) and Washington State (1,947). Of the approx. 52,000 bikes stolen nationally in 2011, Honda was the most commonly stolen (10,282), followed by Yamaha (8,185), Kawasaki (5,904), H-D (5,811) and Suzuki (4,890). If Jochen Zeitz is serious about wanting to restore Harley to its position as the most desirable motorcycle brand in America, he clearly has some work to do!
Responding to demand and opportunity, legendary British auto and motorcycle engine developer Ricardo is to open a hydrogen test facility at its Shoreham-by-Sea headquarters in southern England. "The state-of-the-art facility boasts test and advanced development capabilities both in alternative fuels and electric vehicles, supporting a range of hydrogen and fuel cell services for Ricardo's global customers."
Vancouver based Damon Motors announced an order book that had exceeded a $90m order backlog globally to October 2022, with the potential of exceeding $250m through international partnerships, like the one with Latin America's Auteco. Damon says it has over 3,500 waiting customers and is preparing a pilot production facility at San Rafael, California - over 25% of Damon's orders are from buyers in California. To prepare to scale manufacturing, Damon says it has also leased a 108,000 sq ft facility in Vancouver, Canada, which is being readied for world production.
Japanese made motorcycle exports to USA (250 cc+) were 38,008 units for the first seven months of 2022, down by -9.07% for the year-ago period. The corresponding figure a decade ago (2013) was 71,152 units, having peaked (in 21st century terms) at 249,000 units in 2006. The data is for the 'Big Four' Japanese manufacturers - Honda, Yamaha, Kawasaki and Yamaha. Though all four have spread their production globally even more than ever in the past 20 years, including into the United States, most of America's higher value units are still manufactured in Japan.
Motorcycle registrations in Italy were +4.56% for the year to August 2022 at 99,226 units. Total PTW registrations in Italy for the period to end of August show an overall market that is in negative territory at -3.69% YTD (206,247 units). However, though down on 2021 so far, it is still the second best first eight months for the Italian PTW market since 2011. Of the YTD total, 107,021 were classed as Scooters, which is -10.26% compared to the first eight months of 2021. The Benelli TRK 502/X was again the top selling motorcycle YTD at 5,712 units. Italy was again the largest market in Europe in 2021 with motorcycle registrations +26.49% (119,079 units) compared to 2020 - the best for more than a decade.
Sources: AMD, IDN, FT, Reuters, PSB, MPN, BDN, MCN, AP, Bloomberg, MSNW, Electrek, electricmotorcycles.news, RideApart.com, Motor1.com, Cycle World, motorbikewriter.com