It seems Zero’s new 2012 models are just what the public wants.
The U.S.-based electric motorcycle manufacturer is announcing that first quarter revenue is up 240 per cent over 2011 numbers. Sales are up 178 per cent over the same period, and the brand picked up 50 new dealers in the U.S.
Chief operating officer Karl Wharton says he understands it’s easier for a company like Zero to see big percentage changes in production numbers, due to their lower volume. Still, he says that this year’s numbers are impressive on any scale,, arguably making Zero Motorcycles the fastest growing and largest premium brand electric motorcycle manufacturer in the world. Well, we’ll see what Brammo has to say about that …
Meanwhile, the numbers for Yamaha aren’t so great. Their North American sales are up (about 20,000 machines sold by the end of Q1, compared to 16,000 for 2011’s Q1), but their worldwide sales are down to 1.599 million units, from 1.689 million machines.
That translates to a four per cent slip in worldwide sales revenue, down from 219.7 billion to 209.9 billion yen.
Finally, it seems that Husqvarna’s fortunes might be about to turn around. Husky has seen sales slip consistently for some time now, but their exciting new street bikes seem to be translating into success at the cash register; we couldn’t lay our hands on their Canadian numbers, but apparently they’ve seen a 43 per cent growth in sales in the U.S. in the first four months of 2012.
It’s true that Husqvarna, like Zero, is selling low numbers of motorcycles to start with, but that growth must still be encouraging.
