Amidst the chaos of industry news that we covered during the pandemic (a sample being the magnesium shortage, the semiconductor chip shortage, and a monopoly of shipment bids surrounding the Ever Given’s extended date with the Suez canal), comes an update on the sales side of the in-and-out-and-in-again lockdowns.
RideApart tells us that brands such as Ducati, BMW, and Energica have seen record-high sales during the plethora of lockdowns. After all, when politicking says you should stay put, the best option short of hopping the border to that ill-timed staycation is to swing a leg over a pretty bike and let the engine do the talking.
‘Sometimes it takes a whole tank of fuel before you can think straight’ – that line has proven true for me more times than I can count – and now, Japan’s domestic shipment quota shows others are resounding with that same line.
“Today, the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association announced that 233,059 motorcycles (51cc+) were shipped throughout the country between January-November, 2021,” comments the report.
“That number is a 20.6 – percent uptick over the same period in 2020, and the organization forecasts that the total 2021 shipments will increase to 235,755 when December is factored into the equation.”
“The successful 2021 marks Japan’s most successful year since 1998, when customers purchased 318,080 units.”
The biggest change since the pandemic?
We’re told more youth are picking up smaller displacement machines for scoots about the urban environs proper. The big four (Kawasaki, Yamaha, Suzuki and Honda) all apparently reported higher sales of models like Honda’s PCX scooter, Yamaha’s YZF-R25 and Suzuki’s GSX250R, showing that the younger generation is also still hooked on fossil fuel engines – though not for long, if Yamaha/Kawi’s work on hydrogen engines and Honda’s push for electric travel are any indicator.
Stay tuned for updates, we’ll be sure to keep you up-to-date as news comes down from the pipeline.
Hope your start to 2022 has been a good one, and as always – stay safe on the twisties.