According to the latest data released by the motorcycle industry trade association in Japan (JAMA), Japanese motorcycle manufacturer exports to Europe declined again in August - down by -37.8 percent (to 6,791 units - the lowest September figure for over 15 years) and stand at 106,938 units for the first nine months of the year (-5.57 percent).
In total PTW terms exports to Europe were -28.22 percent in September and are down at -4.26 percent for the first nine months of 2015 (120,685 units).
The picture continues to be bad for Japanese made motorcycle exports to the United States, with September down at -13 percent (7,969 units) compared to September 2014, and down by -25.62 percent for the first nine months (82,784 units).
The increasing number of units being made by the Japanese brands elsewhere in Asia, the US and South/Central America goes some way to explaining the data, though the majority of higher value larger displacement machines are still made in Japan with their overseas factories primarily engaged in making and selling scooters and smaller cc units in 'emerging' markets where import tariffs are high, and ATV/UTV units - especially in the United States.
Worldwide total Japanese manufacturer motorcycle production is on the increase though, with this year's annual total expected to be higher than the 597,058 units produced by them in 2014 (563,309 units in 2013). However, in 2007 (for example), prior to the global economic downturn, the Japanese manufacturers were producing more than double that figure, i.e. 1,676,097 units worldwide.
www.jama.org
