Vancouver based Damon Motors Inc., makers of high-performance electric motorcycles, has provided an update on its previously announced proposed business combination with Grafiti Holding Inc. ("Grafiti"), a former subsidiary of XTI Aerospace, Inc. (formerly Inpixon, "XTI Aerospace"). "The transaction is currently expected to close in the coming months" with the combined company expected to list on the Nasdaq Stock Market under the ticker symbol DMN.
Italian premium brakes manufacturer Brembo reports H1 revenues of € 2,004.8m, up by +2.8% (+3.3% on a like-for-like exchange rate basis). EBITDA was € 351.4m (17.5%), EBIT was €218.8m (10.9%).
WSJ reports that The Federal Reserve and two other U.S. regulators are moving toward a new plan that would significantly reduce a nearly 20% mandated increase in capital for the country's biggest banks, following lobbying efforts by industry CEOs such as JPMorgan Chase's Jamie Dimon. The required increases in capital for banks like JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs are meant to ensure they have sufficient buffers to absorb potential losses. On average, this would cut the proposed level of capital reserves by half. Given that the level of America's net debt has more than doubled to 96% of GDP in 2023, from 1992, international financial institutions are viewing this as an astonishingly inappropriate plan - one that could potentially leave U.S. businesses, consumers and the banks themselves horribly exposed to the risks of another 2007 scale financial crisis. The explosion in the level of Private Equity in the US economy in the past decade or more is often quoted as another potential crisis risk trigger.
For Q1 of its FY 2024/2025 (the period from April - June 2024), Suzuki reports total global motorcycle production of 520,000 units, up by +9.5% (+45,000 units) over the year-ago, with global sales totaling 523,000 units (+8.9%). European sales were flat at 13,000 units. North American sales were also flat at 11,000 units. Asian sales were massively up at 433,000 units (+36%), with India by far its largest market (247,000 units, +54%), followed by China, which was down by -19% at 104,000 units. Total consolidated revenue from motorcycle activities was up at 104.819bn yen (85.9bn yen in Q1 of 2023). Revenue from motorcycle activities in Europe was fractionally up (+0.4%) at 15.2bn yen. United States motorcycle activity revenue was essentially flat (+0.1%) at 11.5bn yen.
Kawasaki reports developed market motorcycle sales up by 2,000 units for 2024 Q2 at 53,000 against an annual forecast of 260,000. European sales were up by 3,000 at 21,000 units. Emerging market sales were up by 17,000 units at 63,000, with total global sales of 116,000 units and forecast at 520,000 for the full year (plus an additional 140,000 four-wheelers and PWC 11,000 sold in Q2, down by nearly 50% at 10,000 units).
Yamaha reports 2024 first half total global unit sales broadly flat at 2.491 million units, up by 29,000 units over the first half of 2023. Sales in Europe were up by 12,000 units at 133,000 for the period January to June 2024. North American sales were up by 6,000 units at 51,000; domestic Japanese sales were down by 2,000 units at 36,000, while total Asian sales were down by 53,000 units at 1.908 million.
Having restated its commitment to make EVs and FCEVs represent 100% of its global vehicle sales by 2040, June this year saw Honda roll its first Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle off the production line at its Marysville, Ohio Performance Manufacturing Center. The all-new 2025 CR-V e:FCEV fuel cell electric vehicle is the first and so far only FCEV made in America, as well as being the first production hydrogen FCEV in the United States to combine an all-new U.S.-made fuel cell system with plug-in EV charging capability.
Honda announced global Group unit sales up by +13.2% at 5.062 million motorcycles for Q1 of its 2024/2025 financial year (the period to June 30, 2024) - up by 580,000 units (+13.2%) over the same quarter of 2023. Sales in Europe were 138,000 units (+14%/19,000 units); 132,000 units in North America (+12,000); down by -8,000 in Japan at 50,000 units sold; 2,663 million units sold in Asia in total (+485,000), with 467,000 units sold (+72,000) in other regions (318,000 of those were in Brazil, up by +117,500). Honda's largest market in Asia is India with 1.414 million units sold in Q1, followed by Indonesia with 1.122 million units sold, then Vietnam and Thailand. Honda's global motorcycle business operations achieved a record high operating profit of 177.6bn yen for the quarter. Group motorcycle volume sales guidance remains unchanged for the year ending March 31, 2025, at 19.8 million units worldwide, 475,000 in Europe.
