| | |
BMW Motorcycles Bullish About 2010
| | |
BMW posted sales of 87,306 for 2009, a 14,379 unit drop from 2008. According to BMW PR the 14.1% drop “not only reached the target it set itself, but also achieved the second-lowest decline in sales amongst the competition.”
Spin is spin, but BMW notes that the overall above 500cc market (which eliminates the majority of small-displacement machines sold in the still robust Asian market) has seen a massive 40% decline from a 1.5 million unit high in 2007 to 900,000 in 2009 – with a more than 30% decline last year alone.
GS Still the Top Seller
BMW’s Boxer-powered GS line remains its workhorse. The standard R1200GS sold 15,864 units, with the Adventure version contributing 8803 sales. The popular F800GS sold an impressive 10,974 units worldwide in its first full sales year – the smaller GS receiving numerous accolades from the media including Motorcycle USA’s 2009 Bike of the Year. BMW also highlights the success of its new F800R, which sold 5828 units.
We liked the new F800GS, with the new Beemer winning Bike of the Year for 2009.Market Shares Increased
In spite of lower sales totals, BMW gained market share in key regions thanks to the poorer performance of its rival. This held true in BMW’s home German market (also its largest market) where 15,833 sales (down from 18,112) netted an increase in market share  from 17.3% to 17.7%. In the above 500cc market, BMW’s gains were more impressive, up from 18.1% to 19.0%.
Italy, BMW’s second-largest market, posted market share gains in 500cc and above from 13% to 14.3%. Total Italian sales of 13,207 mark a 13.9% drop but outperformed the overall 20% drop in the nation. BMW claims market share increases in the British, French and Spanish markets as well.
As for the US, BMW recorded 9168 sales, a drop of 22.5%. Given the aforementioned 41% overall loss, BMW came out with an American market share gain in the above 500cc class from 2.0% to 2.6%.
US BMW Dealer Network Grows
The announcement of increased market share corresponds with the popular brand expanding its American dealer network by eight in the past five mon...
Read more here | |