Yamaha sales up in "developed
markets"
Yamaha
Motor Co., Ltd net sales in the fiscal year ending December 31, 2013 were up by
16.8 percent at 1,410.5 billion yen (+ 202.8 billion yen). Increased motorcycle
sales in Indonesia and India, and increased outboard motor sales in North
America, in addition to the effects of the depreciating yen, are said to have
led to an increase in sales in all businesses.
Net sales
of motorcycles overall increased by 129.5 billion yen from the previous fiscal
year, to 928.2 billion yen (+16.2 percent), with operating income of 8.4
billion yen.
Unit sales
in "developed markets" increased due to the introduction of new
models in Japan and North America, and sales in Europe improved in the second
half, leading to an overall increase. Unit sales in emerging markets, while up
in India (where scooter demand is expanding) and Indonesia (where demand is
recovering), they decreased in Thailand and Vietnam (where the economic
slowdown is continuing), leading to a slight decrease overall.
As a
result, overall global unit sales decreased slightly, but net sales increased
due to model mix improvements and the effects of the depreciating yen.
Regarding operating income, despite active expenditure on development and sales
promotional costs in developed markets and the costs associated with structural
reforms in Europe, cost reductions and the effects of the depreciating yen led
to increased income.
In other
Yamaha news, the company has received a prestigious Red Dot award in the
Product Design category, following up on the iF design award it received in
February.
Sold
primarily in Europe since September 2013, the MT-09 features a newly-designed
engine developed along the lines of the 'Cross-plane' concept, with a
mass-forward design that is said to deliver linear torque in response to rider
throttle input.
The latest
new product news from Yamaha has seen the company (belatedly?) follow Piaggio
into what Yamaha is terming the LMW (Leaning Multi Wheel) class, with the
launch of the 'TRICITY' 125 cc automatic transmission commuter model. Yamaha have a patent pending on the LMW
designation, as definition for vehicles with three wheels or more that lean
through corners like a motorcycle.
It will be
launched on the Thai market in April 2014 and is Yamaha Motor's first
multi-wheeled production vehicle, and represents what the company describes as
"our long-term vision of a growing world of personal mobility".
Developed under the concept of a "New Standard City Commuter" model,
the new 'TRICITY' is said to achieve the same ease of operation characteristics
of an automatic transmission motorcycle, and is the first in what the company
says will be a series of LMW designs as it endeavours to populate and grow this
new commuter vehicle market category.
