sales +6.7 percent
Piaggio has reported that it sold 344,000 two-wheelers worldwide in 2016, up by +6.7% from 2015 (322,500 units), generating net sales of 916.5 million euro, an improvement of +3.6% from 884.9 million euro in 2015. The figure includes spares and accessories, on which turnover totalled 124.5 million euro (a slight increase from 2015).
Piaggio says that it continued to strengthen its leadership of the European two-wheeler market in 2016, with an overall market share of 15.4% (15.2% in 2015), and 25.4% (24.1% in 2015) in the scooter sector alone, with a lead of more than 12 percentage points from the second competitor.
On the Indian two-wheeler market, the Group reported volume growth of almost 40%, thanks in part to the introduction of the well-received new Aprilia SR 150 scooter. The Group recently entered the motorcycle market in Thailand with the introduction of the Aprilia and Moto Guzzi brands, in addition to its existing Vespa and Piaggio branded scooter sales there.
The Group says it maintained a particularly strong presence on the North American scooter market, with a share of 20.1%; it also intends to strengthen its position in motorcycles in North America.
In the scooter segment, global revenues in the ‘high-wheel’ segment made strong progress, largely thanks to the Beverly and the new Piaggio Medley ABS, which have boosted market share for Group vehicles since their launch.
The Vespa brand strengthened its presence on the EMEA market, with revenues up by 5.6%.
Good performance was also reported for the Aprilia brand, which in August made its debut on the Indian scooter market (the world’s largest market with annual sales of more 5 million vehicles) with the Aprilia SR 150 sports scooter.
The Group motorcycle sector also reported healthy performance, thanks to a +13% increase in Moto Guzzi sales, assisted by the new V9 Roamer and Bobber and by the MGX-21, the large totally black cruiser, which had its world preview in August 2016 at the 76th annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally.
Aprilia’s good performance reflects the growth of the Supersport models in the Tuono V4 range, which reported a +24.8% increase in sales, and steady sales performance for the RSV4 1000 line.
In global corporate terms, Piaggio says it has seen positive 2016 performance in all the sectors it is active in, with improvements in all its main indicators and a reduction in debt compared with 2015.
The company says it sold 532,000 vehicles of all kinds worldwide in 2016, an increase of +2.4% from 519,700 in 2015.
Group consolidated net sales in 2016 totalled 1,313.1 million euro, an improvement of +17.8 million euro and +1.4% (+2.8% at constant exchange rates) from 1,295.3 million euro in 2015.
2016 closed with net profit of 14 million euro, an increase of +18.3% compared with 11.9 million euro in 2015.
At EICMA 2016 Piaggio unveiled its Vespa Elettrica project, confirming its commitment to development of alternative low-emission mobility solutions. Production and marketing of Vespa Elettrica are scheduled for the second half of 2017.
Additional new products at EICMA included the Moto Guzzi V7III, developed to mark the 50th anniversary of the debut of the first V7 model, the Moto Guzzi V9 MY 2017 and, for the Aprilia brand, the Shiver 900 and the Dorsoduro 900, two new motorcycles offering enhanced performance compared with the previous versions.
In January Piaggio announced the strengthening of its distribution network after opening its 200th Motoplex store in Europe, the Americas, Oceania, Asia and India – a concept that made its debut just two years ago. Motoplex stores are a network of Group multi-brand stores in addition to its traditional distribution network.
