BMW Motorrad has been selling motorcycles at a record-setting pace this year, and August was no different, with another new sales record for the German motorcycle manufacturer.
BMW sold 7,400 motorcycles in August of 2012, up 11.3 per cent from August of 2011. They’ve had several record-setting months already this year, although their total numbers are down a tad.
They’ve sold 76.729 motorcycles through until Sept. 1 this year, down two per cent from last year’s 78,280 two-wheelers. However, they’ve got several aces up their sleeve that should enable them to outstrip last year’s numbers; they still have the F700 series motorcycles waiting to hit showroom floors, the HP4 superbike will be for sale soon, their new maxi-scooters are going to be available in more markets very soon, and it’s possible the water-cooled R1250 GS (or R1300 GS, depending who you ask) will also be available by the end of the year, which should also help sales grow.
Why is BMW setting sales records while many of its lower-priced competitors see stagnant sales? It’s hard to say, exactly, but it’s certainly part of a trend these days. Mid-range motorcycles with conservative pricing don’t seem to be selling that well – most sales growth seems to be coming at the high and low ends of the scale.
are these US, Canadaian or World Wide figures?
Worldwide.
Could the sales figures have anything to do with the general decline in the spending power of the middle class or the aging boomer population ?
It would be an interesting story to put together. There’s no doubt that demographics and income segments always play a large part in motorcycle sales. Right now, the bikes that rich people buy are seeing growth, the bikes that middle-class folks buy are mostly seeing stagnant sales, and here in North America. there are very few new bikes that are affordable for the lowest income bracket. In other areas, though, those bikes do exist and are selling very well.
Yes, please investigate – what’s stopping the big players from bringing in some of their ‘lower end’ product, meeting safety and emissions standards ? The CBR125R seems to work, why not more of that type ? Back in the Dark Ages we rode 50s, 90s – a 350 was considered a full size machine…
Here’s what I think the problem is: Manufacturers can sell cheap bikes in India/Thailand/China etc, because they can make cheap bikes there. They save a lot on taxes and shipping and labour. But by the time you make something in another country, pay the taxes and gov’t fees to import it to Canada, it’s just not feasible to sell it cheaply … and you can forget any ideas about Canadian labour cranking out cheap motorcycles.
Now, Cleveland Cyclewerks has an interesting model they’re trying …
Wow – I just checked out the CC site and I love “Tha Misfit”. It’s a good base for customization, and there’s a dealer on Vancouver Island 🙂