According to the latest data released by the motorcycle industry trade association in Japan (JAMA), Japanese motorcycle manufacturer exports to Europe declined again in November, down by -18.33 percent (12,835 units) and stand at 129,318 units for the first 11 months of 2015 (-7.88 percent).
In total PTW terms, exports to Europe were -16.46 percent in November (14,124 units) and are down at -5.86 percent for the first 11 months of 2015 (146,765 units).
The picture continues to be bad for Japanese made motorcycle exports to the United States, with November down at -53.84 percent (6,426 units) compared to November 2014 and down by -33.25 percent for the first 11 months of 2015 (72,202 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 making ATV/UTV units - especially in the United States.
Total worldwide 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 at 1,676,097 units worldwide.
www.jama.org
