KYMCO GETS SERIOUS

From left to right: Jeff Wu (vice chairman), Mark Hermolle (managing director), Neil Keeble (sales manager), and Thomas Bradford (marketing manager)

A BIG PUSH FROM THE TAIWANESE FIRM AIMS TO RAISE ITS BRITISH PROFILE AND EXPAND THE DEALER NETWORK. ALAN DOWDS REPORTS

It’s one of the biggest names in twowheeled commuters across Europe. It’s worked with Honda, Kawasaki and BMW on high-profile joint projects. And it’s on the verge of launching a whole new range of high-tech machinery, including electric bikes, three-wheeled leaning trikes and futuristic urban mobility products.

But, unlike in the rest of Europe, the Kymco brand isn’t a common sight on the streets of the UK. Indeed, you’re more likely to see its products trundling along pavements or through shopping malls at walking pace – Kymco’s healthcare division is the market leader in the UK, and its electric mobility scooters are the top sellers in the premium sector of that burgeoning market.

But there’s a new team in charge at the top of the Kymco UK scooter and bike operation; and it has big plans to grow the brand’s petrol-powered products here. That team has been in place for several years now, after Kymco’s previous importer, Masco, collapsed suddenly into liquidation in July 2017. The Taiwanese firm needed a solution – fast.

Luckily, though it had just the man on the spot. MD of Kymco UK, Mark Hermolle is a keen motorcyclist, and had been running the healthcare side of the business since 2008. But, as he told BDN, he’d been watching Kymco’s two-wheeled division for a long time. “I was always interested in getting involved in the bike side,” he said. “I’ve been involved with Kymco since 1999 through the other ventures in mobility – we designed the ranges of mobility scooters together and worked extensively with the R&D team in Bologna. We founded the mobility company in 2008, and on the mobility side, we’ve been number one in the market for 12 years now, probably longer.”

KYMCO RANGE VSR 125

KYMCO PRIDES ITSELF ON its high-tech, premium machines, and reckons that it’s closer to high-end Japanese and European brands than cheaper Chinese-made bikes and scooters. Its range focuses on scooters, from entry-level mopeds and 125s, up to the flagship AK550 twin. The firm is also developing into new sectors, like the three-wheeled CV3 which BDN rode at the press event, and new electric urban mobility machinery. Finally, it makes a range of quality ATVs, and has a division that sells premium e-bikes in Europe too. Our man Dowds had a spin on the Kymco range at a recent press launch. The VSR 125 is a ‘proper’ geared 125cc motorbike, and while it’s a step below premium Japanese machines like the Yamaha MT125 and Honda CB125R, it’s a decent enough performer, and good value at £2750. The air-cooled engine will just about hit 70mph with me on the back on a long run, and the styling is spot-on for the sector. There’s even an echo of the old Honda NSR125 logo on the tail unit. DTX360 320

The £5559 DTX360 is Kymco’s take on the ‘adventure scooter’ concept, and it’s a solid performer. The 320 single cylinder engine is strong enough to hit an indicated 80mph and while the off-road potential is probably minimal, it’s a handsome beastie. It comes with a traction control system – a definite boon in this sector – but the small-ish underseat storage space struggles to take a normal full-face helmet.

AGILITY CITY 125

The Agility is the top-selling 125 scooter in several European markets according to Mark Hermolle. It’s a simple, basic commuting tool, with few thrills, but solid value for just under £3k. www.britishdealernews.co.uk

Having the UK healthcare firm take on the bike, scooter and ATV business made a lot of sense then. But Hermolle had a massive job on his hands when Masco collapsed. “It was a really difficult time, we had a long history with Masco, and unfortunately that happened, so it was quite tricky to get it all going. We had to transfer a lot of things down to Bridgend [Kymco’s HQ] from Masco in Shrewsbury.”

Then, of course, Covid-19 appeared in early 2020, and put everything on hold. “Just as we started to get the ball rolling, recruiting staff, getting to know the dealers, Covid hit us. It was a challenge,” the affable MD told us.

Now though, with the pandemic in the rearview mirror, Hermolle has got Kymco UK back on track. The firm has taken on a new national sales manager, Neil Keeble, formerly of Honda UK, and keen young marketing man Thomas Bradford. It’s appointed the Motocom PR firm to help look after its press and PR functions. And it’s launching a campaign to polish the Kymco brand image in the UK, while also revamping its dealer network.

“We’re positioning ourselves in the premium space in the petrol business – both ATVs and bikes. That’s the aim, thanks to our history and heritage and the kind of companies we’ve partnered with over the years; premium firms like BMW, Honda and Kawasaki. We’re quite proud of those associations, and want to continue that and to carve out a position in the UK.”

Keeble outlined the moves Kymco is making on the dealer relations front, in order to grow and improve the network, where needed. “We have a dealer recruitment programme, and our whole mantra is we all believe the right direction is working as partners with dealers. It isn’t a dictatorial mandate, we want to succeed with them, because we have a relationship, and they are working with our product. We want it to be a two-way business partnership, genuinely”

Hermolle agreed. “It’s very much a winwin scenario: when the dealer wins, we win together. It’s a partnership.”

One other concrete area that the firm is working on right now is having the right finance deals – both for dealers and customers. “On dealer finance, we already partner with DF Capital and are very happy there. The biggest single thing we need to get in place is a partnership with a renowned retail finance company, and those meetings are currently underway. We would hope that a partner will be announced around NEC time.”

In terms of product, one major development area for Kymco is electric. It’s a founder member of the swappable batteries initiative and has a wide range of Ionex electric scooters in production, with more on the way, as Hermolle told us. “On electric, there are other products coming, including some products which are very successful in Taiwan. The Super7 and Super9 are extremely popular in the 125 space. But there are also things that we’ve shown in the past: the SuperNex superbike concept, and in development now at the Bologna R&D centre is the RevoNex which is very relevant in the UK. It’s a naked, performance, 700cc class machine, with a six-speed gearbox, slipper clutch – a ‘spirited rider’ type vehicle rather than a twist and go bike. So, we’re very excited, as you can imagine.

“It’s not here right now and not going to be a short-term thing but when it’s fully developed by the design team in Bologna it’s going to be exciting times for us.”

Kymco is aware that not all dealers are ready for electric though. “We don’t want to foist the electric product on dealers who don’t want it, don’t understand the tech or don’t understand the customer base,” said Keeble. “If any dealers are used to selling in that market, are happy to get involved and have the drive to push electric sales, then we are more than happy to work with them – it would be a fantastic top-off to the rest of their Kymco franchise. We’re also very much open to developing relationships with electric-only specialists as well.”  Kymco UK 01656 645755 www.kymco.co.uk

AK550

Kymco is competing in some tough territory here: the likes of Yamaha’s T-Max and the (discontinued) Suzuki Burgman 650 set high standards in the full-bore maxi-scooter sector. The AK550 acquits itself well: the 52hp parallel twin engine is strong and willing, and the chassis has a definite sporty edge, with Brembo performance brake calipers and sticky Pirelli tyres. There’s decent levels of hightech, with heated grips, keyless ignition, LCD dash and Bluetooth phone connection, plus there’s a GT version coming out next year that will feature a cornering ABS setup. It’s not cheap at £9899, but that’s around £2500 less than a T-Max. KYMCO HISTORY KYMCO WAS ORIGINALLY FOUNDED IN partnership with Honda back in 1964. Taiwanese businessman Guang-Shu Ko was friends with Soichiro Honda and signed a deal for technology transfers from Honda to Kymco. Over the next 20 years, Honda invested in Kymco as a strategic overseas production partner and the Japanese giant became a major shareholder. By the early 1990s, Kymco was producing vehicles under its own brand name, and in 2003, it bought back its shareholdings from Honda, making it an independent company again. Earlier this year, in January 2022, Kymco signed a deal with Harley-Davidson, taking on 4% of the LiveWire electric bike maker, and agreeing to become a strategic engineering, design and production partner. With eleven overseas subsidiaries across the world, six production centres outside Taiwan and a home production base covering two million square feet, it’s a serious company. The I-ONE, part of the Ionex range

CV3

BDN rode a prototype version of this machine (pictured above), which uses the AK550 engine in a leaning three-wheeled trike chassis, eligible for car drivers to use. It’s a bit weird at first, but once you adapt to the slightly quirky steering mechanism, it’s a fun, solid piece of kit. The 550 motor makes it quite lively off the mark, and it comes with decent equipment levels again. It will be on sale in Q1 2023, at an SRP of £11,999.