KTM Industries AG announced unit sales in the 1st half 2019 up +7% compared to the previous year. In the first half of 2019, KTM sold approximately 136,000 vehicles worldwide under the KTM and Husqvarna Motorcycles brands. The increase is said to be due to the ongoing growth of the European motorcycle market (total industry sales are more than +10% for the first six months of 2019 in Europe) and strong sales growth in India (+30%).
Ducati owner Volkswagen (VAG) has signed an as yet unspecified cooperation agreement with Chinese made electric scooter maker Niu. Founded in 2015 with what quickly became China's most successful crowdfunding campaign, and one of the 10 most successful at the time, Niu is NASDAQ listed and with importer KSR Group has more than 400 dealers (with workshops) in Germany, Austria and Switzerland alone.
In USA the MIC lobby efforts against Trump administration tariffs appear to have fallen on deaf ears. As of September 1st, the US will apply a 10% tariff to an additional $300bn of Chinese goods. The list (China List 4) includes safety headgear, safety clothing, rain gear, speakers, motorcycle covers, parts, accessories and motorcycles in the 50-800 cc range. This new levy is in addition to the 25% already applied to List 4 items.
