Piaggio Group Q1 (January - March 2020) consolidated net sales totalled € 311.4m, a reduction of -10.1% from € 346.2m at 31 March 2019 and sold 117,100 vehicles worldwide (140,400 in the year-earlier period).
Two-wheeler sales rose in Asia Pacific (+3.5%), mitigating in part the fall in sales in the EMEA and Americas area (-8.3%) and India (-28.5%) caused by the health emergency.
In Q1 the Group sold 76,400 two-wheelers worldwide (-9.7% from 84,600 in the year-earlier period), generating net sales of € 208.8m
(-7.9% from € 226.7m in 2019 Q1). The figure includes spares and accessories, on which turnover totalled € 26.2m.
The decreases were largely the result of the decline in business in Italy (in the second half of March) where PTW shipments were down -33% (-35.9% net sales) and India (with -33.5% shipments; -20.3% net sales). The American two-wheeler market saw a rise of 5.5% in shipments and 4.5% in net sales, and Asia Pacific an increase of 3.5% in shipments and 4.8% in net sales.
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| On May 4th Piaggio restarted Moto Guzzi production at the Mandello del Lario factory that has been the brand's home since 1921. |
The Piaggio Group confirmed its leadership in the European scooter segment with a share of 21.9% and maintained a strong positioning on the North American scooter market, with a share of 26.2%. In North America the Group is also consolidating its presence in the motorcycle segment with the Aprilia and Moto Guzzi brands.
In the Motorcycle segment, sales rose for the Moto Guzzi V85TT and for the Aprilia RX, RS 125 and Shiver.
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| Sales of the Mp3 were up in Q1 |
In Commercial Vehicles, Piaggio reported sales volumes of 40,700 vehicles (-27% from 55,800 vehicles in the first quarter of 2019) and net sales of € 102.6m (-14.2% from
€ 119.5m in the year-earlier period). The figure includes spares and accessories, on which turnover totalled € 12.1m.
At a geographical level, growth was reported on the American market (+26.5% shipments; +18% net sales), whereas the EMEA market slowed
(-46.2% shipments; -7.4% net sales). In India in the first quarter of 2020 the Piaggio Group sold 37,400 commercial vehicles, with a reduction of 14.4% in net sales. The PVPL subsidiary had an overall share of 24.3% of the Indian three-wheeler market and confirmed its leadership in the Cargo segment with a share of 47.2%, up from 44.8% in the first quarter of 2019.
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| Piaggio Group Chair/CEO Roberto Colaninno: "Despite the dreadful emergency created by the world pandemic, the Piaggio Group has successfully passed the first-quarter test and is investing in the future in terms of sustainable, technologically advanced mobility for people as well as for goods transportation." |
Production in the Group's Italian factories was suspended from Monday 23 March 2020 to 3 May 2020. On Monday 4 May, after implementing numerous procedures and measures to guarantee maximum safety for the health of its workers, Piaggio reopened its production plants in Italy (Piaggio - Pontedera - Pisa), Aprilia (Noale and Scorzè - Venice) and Moto Guzzi (Mandello del Lario – Lecco).
At the Group level, the return on net sales was 28.3% (30% at 31 March 2019). Profit before tax in the first quarter was €5.2m, a reduction of 63.3% from € 14.2m in the year-earlier period. Piaggio reported a net profit for the first quarter of 2020 of €3.1m (€ 7.8m in the first quarter of 2019).
Piaggio defends Vespa design rights at EUIPO
Following the confiscation of a counterfeit Vespa design knock-off at EICMA last November, a design registered by a Chinese company has been declared invalid by the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO).
Like many, Piaggio faces a constant and ongoing fight to secure its rights, winning more than 50 cases against counterfeiters and IP infringements in the last two years alone.
Piaggio said that a design registered by a Chinese party, used to justify the production of scooters similar to the Vespa and exhibited at the EICMA 2019 (which were removed by the authorities at the exhibition centre after Piaggio lodged a complaint) has been declared invalid by the invalidity division of the EUIPO. The counterfeit registration was annulled since it was “incapable of eliciting a different general impression with respect to the registered design” of the Vespa Primavera, with the invalidity division pointing out that the registration was an unlawful attempt to reproduce the scooter’s aesthetic elements.
"The Vespa Primavera is protected by the design registered by the Piaggio Group in 2013, by the three-dimensional trademark of the Vespa scooter and by the copyright that safeguards the artistic value of the shape of the Vespa, a style icon since 1946. The invalidity proceedings are part of the wider activities against counterfeiting undertaken by the Piaggio Group for years.
"This includes continuous monitoring of the databases of internationally registered designs and trademarks, which, as a result of the opposition proceedings initiated by Piaggio, has led to the cancellation of more than 50 trademarks registered by third parties in the last two years".
