International news – Bihr buys again

International news International news

With financial editor Roger Willis

Dunlop parent buys Avon

THE DUNLOP AND AVON motorcycle tyre brands have been joined in corporate matrimony, after US rubberware giant Goodyear, which owns Dunlop, completed its acquisition of Cooper Tire & Rubber for £1.77bn. A merger agreement, announced on 22 February, was subsequently approved by Avon parent Cooper’s shareholders, allowing the takeover to be confirmed. The business will be run from Goodyear’s global HQ at Akron, Ohio.

Celebrating this done deal, Goodyear chairman and chief executive Richard Kramer said: “We are excited to officially bring Goodyear and Cooper together and unite our shared focus on customers, innovation, highquality products and solutions. This combination strengthens Goodyear’s ability to serve more consumers globally and provides increased scale to support greater investments in new mobility and fleet solutions.”

Bihr swallows Paaschburg & Wunderlich

French aftermarket giant Bihr, now indisputably the largest European distributor of spares, accessories, riding apparel and tyres for motorcycles, scooters and quads, has struck again. Its latest acquisition target is leading Hamburg-based German parts and accessories trade purveyor Paaschburg & Wunderlich.

Following similar takeovers in the UK of MotoDirect and its headline RST apparel brand in 2019, and then more recently Lancashire off-road specialist Race FX, Bihr plans to leverage P&W’s particular talents across all of the markets in which it operates.

Bihr chief executive Christophe Piron explained: “The expertise of P&W and its team is a real asset for both Bihr and its customers. In addition, our networks are complementary and the strong presence of P&W in Germany will not only allow us to deploy our parts and accessories offer but also to accelerate the development of our rider equipment brands there.

“This buyout pursues a threefold objective. It will allow P&W customers to benefit from Bihr’s parts catalogue. And it will accelerate the deployment of P&W brands in our 15-country distribution network. But, above all, P&W is already established in the US and will therefore allow Bihr to distribute its own brands, like RST, on North American markets.”

Former Paaschburg & Wunderlich managing director and majority stakeholder Oliver Moosmayer has joined the Bihr organisation as chief product officer, with a mission of developing the group’s own parts and accessory brands.

“Being able to ensure our growth by relying on the Bihr network is a unique opportunity,” Moosmayer added. “With a distribution network of more than 15,000 active resellers, the group will have an unmatched strike force on the European market.”

Former Paaschburg & Wunderlich managing director, Oliver Moosmayer (left) and Christophe Piron, Bihr chief executive

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Pierer showcases its plugged-in credentials

To emphasise the extent to which it has climbed onto the electrified bandwagon, KTM, Husqvarna and GasGas parent Pierer Mobility recently unveiled a KTM Motohall exhibition entitled “The Future of Electric Mobility” at the group’s Mattighofen HQ.

According to eponymous Pierer Mobility chief executive Stefan Pierer, this exhibition offers an indepth illustration of current and future products that will shape the electric mobility world. And it reflects his view that the existing European motorcycle and scooter market in the 50-125cc equivalent (4-11kW) category will become predominantly electric within the next ten years.

Apart from current electric products from KTM’s Freeride-E onwards, and a host of pedelecs, featured machines on display are the conceptual spawn of Pierer’s dedicated new electric competence centre at Anif on the outskirts of Salzburg. Presented under the Husqvarna banner, these comprise an E-Pilen 8kW motorcycle, a conventionally configured Vektorr 4kW scooter and – most controversially – a Bltz stand-up scooter.

Commenting on this promotional initiative, Pierer Mobility chief marketing officer Hubert Trunkenpolz said: “The exhibition offers a clear insight into our vision to lead the way. Developing new technologies, while utilising our 30 years of powered two-wheeler business experience, we have ambitious plans to rapidly expand our position within the electric mobility sector. All of our brands, through established distribution channels, will offer innovative and enjoyable products to meet consumer demand.”

Pierer Chief marketing officer Hubert Trunkenpolz

China exports inflation

THE ECONOMIST MAGAZINE HAS JUST FLAGGED UP SERIOUS concerns about inflationary pressures now being exerted by Chinese export goods on Western markets. BDN financial editor Roger Willis reports.

Business surveys carried out in China have revealed that domestic factory-gate prices climbed at an average annualised rate of 9% during May, the biggest increase in more than a decade. A principal driver was the soaring cost of raw materials, led by steel and copper.

Post-pandemic Chinese economic recovery has centred on an investment surge for large-scale residential and infrastructure construction projects, requiring vast amounts of steel. But this hike in demand coincided with China’s government cutting steel production to meet climate-change targets. At the same time, Covid lockdowns have disrupted supplies of copper to China from dominant global mining sources in Chile and Peru.

The consequence has been a significant rise for the input price of both metals to Chinese industrial users. Obviously, indigenous automotive and motorcycle manufacturers are heavily dependent on them and in no position to absorb these increases. So, they are being passed on to overseas customers.

This inflationary effect is also compounded by an exponentially mounting cost of shipping goods in the currently chaotic worldwide maritime logistics situation. And to make matters worse, the Chinese yuan has grown in value by nearly 10% against the US dollar over the past year, reaching a three-year high in May. It has also strengthened considerably versus the euro and sterling.

Bosch warning over microchip famine

Europe’s largest supplier of electronic and electrical components to automotive and motorcycle manufacturers has told its customers they will have to “put money on the table” if they want to beat current microchip shortages disrupting their output.

Speaking to the Financial Times at the opening of a new £m Bosch semiconductor plant in Dresden, Bosch director Harald Krüger stressed that manufacturers can no longer make last-minute purchase decisions based on fluctuation in demand, given the long lead times in chip production.

“The only way to get out of the recent crisis is to have a different level of commitment,” said Krüger. “The commitment needs to be rock solid that parts will be bought with money on the table.” Effectively, he was signalling an end to just-in-time procurement as regards essential electronic components and a return to stockpiling. Elsewhere, the FT reported that the spread of Covid- in Taiwanese electronics factories, a major hub of the global semiconductor supply chain, is likely to exacerbate chip shortages.

Bike industry begs for end to tari s

ACEM AND USMMA, RESPECTIVELY representing European and US bike manufacturers, have issued a joint transatlantic statement pleading for the removal of retaliatory tariffs on American motorcycles imported into Europe. Their cap-in-hand message is addressed to a forthcoming summit meeting between US president Joe Biden and European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen.

These tit-for-tat tariffs were imposed after the US sanctioned steel and aluminium exports from Europe with punitive duties, and were due to be doubled soon. Having rejoiced when the EC suspended that increase for six months, subject to negotiations, ACEM is also begging for a quick resolution to the steel and aluminium dispute itself.

Without pausing for breath or much in the way of punctuation, ACEM secretary general Antonio Perlot said: “ACEM calls upon the transatlantic leadership to ensure that negotiations to tackle steel over-capacity concerns be concluded without delay and not to wait six months, during which time hundreds of millions of euros of unrelated sectors’ money will be spent on unwarranted tariffs, instead of on investments and essential research and development for the rebuilding and greening of both EU and US economies.”

His efforts will almost certainly be futile. Biden has been lobbied in advance by the powerful United Steelworkers trade union, members of which have benefited mightily from protectionist measures introduced by Biden’s predecessor Donald Trump. And as a Democrat on America’s political left wing, Joe Biden is very keen on promoting employment recovery for American blue-collar workers.