International news

International news International news

With financial editor Roger Willis

Take AIM for Vegas

FANCY A WINTER WORKING break in sub-tropical sunshine, with some spectacular night life thrown in for good measure? Then it’s time to pencil the American International Motorcycle Expo (AIMExpo) into your diary.

The 2023 edition of North America’s biggest bike trade show is set to take place on 15-17 February at the resort city of Las Vegas, in the heart of Nevada’s Mojave desert. Venue is the Las Vegas Convention Center.

Open only to dealers and industry professionals, for whom attendance is free with pre-registration, AIMExpo bills itself as an immersive experience for the global powersports business – a platform for key brands, manufacturers, dealers, distributors, media personnel and influencers to engage with all the important issues and opportunities, in a US market that generates an estimated $39.9bn of annual consumer spend.

For accommodation, AIMExpo organisers have contracts with The Sahara Las Vegas and Renaissance Las Vegas hotels, offering exclusive discount pricing to attendees. For details of this and required proof of trade or media affiliation for advance registration, browse: www.aimexpousa.com.

Eicma declared trade winner

Exit data, issued by event supremo Pietro Meda immediately after the annual Eicma Milan international motorcycle industry showcase closed its doors on 13 November, underlined the extent to which it has comprehensively spanked biennial competitor Intermot in Cologne.

Six pavilions at the Fiera Milano exhibition centre occupied 35% more space than the 2021 Eicma show and effectively doubled the size of three Koelnmesse halls employed by Intermot two months earlier, which German organiser IVM had struggled to fill anyway. The Italians featured 1370 brands – 59% from overseas exhibitors representing 45 different nations.

Most telling Eicma statistic was registered visitor footfall by 38,747 trade and industry professionals, a 35% increase over 2021, more than half of whom came from abroad. Intermot, returning from a four-year hiatus, had only managed to attract approximately 20,000 business representatives, with about 30% of them from outside Germany.

Overall Eicma attendance by the paying public was 38% up, with the majority buying their tickets online. And media presence for its exclusive press-only opening day pulled an enhanced total of 6900 accredited journalists, photographers and TV crews. The number of new model launches by manufacturers also massively eclipsed the subdued mood at Intermot, where several major brands had been no-shows.

Unsurprisingly, Meda and his chief executive Paolo Magri effusively claimed this performance had once again asserted Eicma’s global leadership and Milan as the undisputed world capital of the motorcycle industry. “Eicma unquestionably remains on the highest step in the entire international scene and this is where we will stay,” opined Meda, modestly.

Magri added: “Opportunities to encourage the meeting between supply and demand, and facilitate the development of concrete business openings, have increased disproportionately, confirming Eicma as a unique place able to profitably unite the B2B and B2C spheres.”

Dates for Eicma 2023 are 7-12 November.

Royal Enfield hunts on home turf

Riding on the success of its new entry-level Hunter 350 offering and an expanding domestic retail network, Royal Enfield is well on the way to achieving highest-ever sales in its ongoing fiscal year to March 2023, and potentially selling about one million units in the following 12 months.

The brand sold a record 82,235 bikes during October, mainly to Indian customers, and has alerted dealers to prepare for shipments of 100,000 per month from January onwards. Even if the company only manages to ship motorcycles at the current monthly rate of 80,000, it is likely to hit annual sales of 880,000 – 47% more than in the fiscal year to March 2022, and about 7% higher than its previous alltime record of around 822,000 units in the fiscal year to March 2019.

This welter of good news comes after almost three years of weakening sales, when inflated prices and rising fuel costs put Royal Enfield motorcycles out of reach for many Indians. And a lot of the company's turnaround has hinged on introduction of the Hunter, its most affordable proposition to date.

Advance orders for this key model have exceeded 50,000, accounting for a third of total pre-booked commitments. About 18% of domestic-market sales now come from first-time motorcycle buyers, compared to 13% before the Hunter’s launch. Also significantly, two in every five Hunter buyers are in the 18-25 age group.