American Motorcycle Dealer AMD 235 February 2019 | Page 10

NEWS
BRIEFS
Following the launch of the FTR
1200, Indian Motorcycle says it
received positive feedback for the
Akrapovic low-mount accessory
exhaust. Indian has therefore
decided to offer this exhaust system
as a stock element for the FTR 1200
S with race replica paint as it’s the
most premium model within the FTR
1200 line-up.
WPS (Western Power Sports),
the parent company of Boise,
Idaho based specialty
distributor HardDrive, has
announced an 80,000 sq ft
expansion to its existing
100,000 sq ft Fresno, California
warehouse, with more
expansion news to come
in 2019.
Jeff Brown of EagleRider and Tim
Calhoun of Helmet House, Inc. have
been elected to join the Motorcycle
Industry Council Board of Directors.
MIC members also re-elected Andy
Leisner of Bonnier Motorcycle Group
to the board. They join Paul Vitrano
(MIC Board Vice Chair), Chuck
Boderman (Honda), Jim Woodruff
(NPA), Eric Anderson (VROOM
Network), Derek Brooks (Yamaha),
Kerry Graeber (Suzuki), John Hinz
(KTM), Bill Jenkins (Kawasaki) and
Mike Peyton (BMW Motorrad USA).
After three years of pretty
much continuous decline, sales
of personal watercraft
increased by 8% through the
month of November, according
to the latest Info-Link
Bellwether report. Boat sales
were +3.5%.
BMW AG and Porsche have unveiled
a charging station that can jolt
electric vehicles with enough power
to drive 100 km (62 miles) in less
than three minutes, pushing ahead
of Tesla Inc. in the race to make
battery-powered cars more
convenient.
Three-time Pro Stock World
Champion Angelle Sampey will
join the Harley-Davidson
Screamin’ Eagle/Vance & Hines
Pro Stock Motorcycle team for
the opening four rounds of the
2019 NHRA season as a
showcase rider, competing
alongside team veterans
Andrew Hines and Eddie
Krawiec. With 42 pro stock wins
to her credit, Sampey stands as
the most successful female
competitor in NHRA history.
10
Parts Unlimited and Drag Specialties
Spring NVP Product Expo
Louisville, Kentucky, February 16 – 17 2019
Parts Unlimited and Drag Specialties
have released more information about
their 2019 Spring NVP Product Expo.
Slated for the renovated downtown
Kentucky International Convention
Center (KICC) at Louisville, Kentucky,
on the weekend of Saturday February
16 and Sunday 17, the Janesville,
Wisconsin headquartered distributor
says that theirs will again be the
largest distributor dealer expo of the
year.
Spanning over 88,000 sq. feet with
more than 240 leading exhibitors, at
the time of writing the company says
it will be introducing 25 new brands to
the Expo in “increased show space”
that will allow for “larger displays to
showcase the newest products from
the industry’s leading brands.”
The Expo runs two full days with
expanded hours, starting Saturday
with dealer product training directly
from industry professionals. “Exciting
new brands and products will be
announced, along with opportunities
to connect with the industry’s leading
brands. NVP offers some great
discounts and incentives.” The
company says dealers should “plan to
attend Saturday and Sunday, as it will
take both days to see the entire show.”
Hospitality and additional features for
the weekend will include Saturday’s
Happy Hour “where you can check out
the fashion show featuring the 2019
Spring Collection apparel brands and
Saturday evening’s iconic Meet &
Greet at the Sports & Social Club in the
heart of downtown Louisville’s 4th
Street live entertainment district.”
Located within a day’s drive for over
half the U.S. population, Louisville is
described as being “one of the most
walkable downtowns with premier
dining and entertainment
destinations.”
www.dragspecialties.com
ACEM - Motorcycle Registrations
in the EU Up By 8.2% During
the First Nine Months of 2018
The last set of EU new registrations
data released by the Association des
Constructeurs Européens de
Motocycles (ACEM), the Brussels
based international motorcycle
industry trade association, put EU new
motorcycle registrations at 830,694
units for the first 9 months of the year,
a +8.2 percent increase.
With 186,487 units (a +5.1% increase
on a year-on-year basis) Italy remains
the largest European motorcycle
market, followed by France (146,276
motorcycles, +10%), Germany
(140,628 motorcycles, +11.1%),
Spain (113,650 motorcycles, +8.0%)
and the UK (83,155 motorcycles,
+3.7%).
Motorcycle registrations increased in
all EU countries, with the exception of
Poland, where they went down by -
2.3%.
The European moped market reached
209,562 units during the first 9
months of 2018. This represents a
decrease of around -26.1% compared
to the registration levels of the first
nine months of 2017 (283,399 units).
The largest markets for mopeds in
Europe were: France (51,498 units),
AMERICAN MOTORCYCLE DEALER - FEBRUARY 2019
Netherlands (47,260 units), Germany
(20,133 units), Italy (16,118 units) and
Belgium (15,992 units).
The moped market saw transition from
Euro 3 to Euro 4 engine emissions
compliance take effect on January 1st,
2018 - 12 months later than for
motorcycles.
Combined registrations of electric
mopeds, motorcycles and quadricycles
reached 36,270 units during the first
nine months of 2018. This represents
a substantial increase of +52.8%
compared to the registration levels of
the same period of 2017 (23,722
units).
Most of the electric L-category vehicles
registered in 2018 are mopeds
(26,210 units), followed by
motorcycles (7,652 units) and a much
smaller number of quadricycles (about
2,408 units).
Commenting on the latest figures,
Antonio Perlot, Secretary General of
ACEM, said: “During the first nine
months of 2018, motorcycle
registrations increased in 27 out of the
28 EU Member States, with double
digit growth figures for the three
largest European markets: Italy, France
and Germany.
“Although current
sales volumes in
Europe are still
below 2007 levels
(when 1.5. million
units were sold), the motorcycle sector
has accumulated four consecutive
years of growth since 2013. If current
trends persist, 2018 may become a
fifth consecutive year of market
growth.
However, there is growing industry
thinking that, in fact, the apparently
robust growth in new motorcycle
registrations is in fact flattening out
when the 2016 Euro 3 pre-registered
inventory is taken into account.
That inventory was ultimately sold in
2017, but the numbers were mostly
recorded in the registration statistics
for the final quarter of 2016 - meaning
that 2017 registrations were in fact
higher than formerly recorded and
distorting the year-on-year
comparison.
The true 2017 figure is likely to have
been much closer to the final 2018
figure when the full year statistics are
published in 2019.
www.AMDchampionship.com