BMW Group have officially opened its new automotive plant in San Luis Potosi in Mexico. BMW has already been making cars in the USA for 25 years at Greer, South Carolina - the speculation has been that this is where they may start manufacturing motorcycles for the North American market if they finally do decide to go down that route. The company has invested more than one billion US dollars in the new production location, with a capacity there of up to 175,000 units per year.Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. announced that the YZF-R15 motorcycle – produced and sold by Yamaha Motor’s India subsidiary, India Yamaha Motor Private Limited – has been awarded the India Design Mark (I MARK) sponsored by The India Design Council. This is the eighth year in a row – every year since the inaugural awards in 2012 – that a Yamaha Motor product has received the I MARK.
Held at the Rauschenberg, Germany headquarters of SW-Motech, at the two-day annual meeting of the IVM (the motorcycle industry trade association Germany) former Vice President Henning Putzke, BMW Motorrad, was elected to a two-year term as President, replacing Ralf Keller (Yamaha Motor Germany), who has retired after 10 years in the role. Jan Breckwoldt, Peugeot Motocycles, and Jürgen Höpker-Seibert, Kawasaki Motor Germany, were newly elected 1st and 2nd Vice Presidents. Ronald Kabella of Bucher AG in Switzerland (MOTOREX oils) was re-elected as the aftermarket resentative to the management board.
BMW Motorrad increased deliveries of its motorcycles and maxi-scooters by 7.7% to 38,606 units (2018: 35,858 units) in the United States, setting a new Q1 record for the eighth year in succession. Revenues grew by +11.8% to € 586 million (2018: € 524 million). EBIT also improved significantly, rising to € 89 million for the three-month period under report (2018: € 77 million; +15.6%). The first-quarter EBIT margin came in at 15.2% (2018: 14.7%).
Brembo has concluded a € 100m investment in a new 67 production line, 40,000 sq m aluminium brake caliper production hub in Nanjing, near Shanghai, China. The facility will supply parts to European, Asian and American customers operating in China. The hub integrates a foundry with production lines in a facility that stands next to the plant that was inaugurated in 2012 for the production of brake discs. The combined facilities offer a production capacity of more than two million pieces per year.
The Motorcycle Industry Council (MIC) in the United States has re-elected well known motorcycle advocate Paul Vitrano of Indian Motorcycle/Polaris Industries as its chairperson, Chuck Boderman of Honda as vice chair and Jim Woodruff of National Powersport Auctions as secretary/treasurer. The 12 directors also retained/elected Tim Buche as MIC President and CEO. Buche has served as the leader of the MIC’s staff since 1996. Jeff Brown of EagleRider motorcycle rentals and Tim Calhoun of Helmet House were recently elected new members of the board. Established in 1914, the MIC HQ is in Irvine, CA., with a government relations office in Washington, D.C.
Sources: AMD, IDN, FT, Reuters, PSB, MPN, B&B, BDN, MCN, AP, Bloomberg, MNW
