Italian suspension specialist Andreani Group (Pesaro) is taking its United States brand support a stage further with the establishment of Andreani USA Inc. The initial focus will be on the specialty Andreani suspension tools programmes and offering suspension courses for technicians. The new division is being headed up by Elisa Andreani.
KTM's World Adventure Week is planned for July 4th to 10th 2022. The programme is designed to "encourage mass participation by all adventurers, no matter what bike they are on - a unique opportunity to go out and ride". The main goal is to complete 1,000 km or more in seven days.
Russia was the fifth largest European retail market in 2021 - valued at £337.2bn; it won't be in 2022!
Honda Motor Co., Ltd has announced a one million euro donation to the Japanese Red Cross Society to support humanitarian aid for those affected in Ukraine and neighbouring countries. The donations will be used to support the crisis response in Ukraine, and the relief efforts in nearby countries hosting refugees.
The Board of Directors of the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM) announced its condemnation of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and its decision to suspend the Motorcycle Federation of Russia (MFR) and the Belarusian Federation of Motorcycle Sport (BFMS) as a result. The FIM Board also recommended that all affiliated members of the FIM and FIM Continental Unions take similar action. Consistent with this action, riders from these federations will also be prohibited from participation in FIM sanctioned events.
Norton Motorcycles has a fresh face on the board of its parent company TVS Motors - Sir Ralf Speth had been due to take over as Chairman in January 2023, but the former Jaguar Land Rover boss will take over in April 2022 instead.
In other Norton news, disgraced former owner Stuart Garner has escaped jail. Having admitted charges of Pension fund fraud, Garner has received an eight-month prison sentence, suspended for two years, for each of three counts of breaching employer-related investment (ERI) rules.
Piaggio Group and Santander Consumer Finance signed an international partnership to develop retail financial service solutions.
Energica has established 'Energica Inside' (EI) - a business unit "dedicated to developing and production of powertrains, batteries assembly and technology for electric vehicles". Leveraging its ten years of experience "in the world of full-electric mobility, Energica has now the strength to expand the range of its R&D to other areas, both in low and high voltage systems. EI will provide knowledge and EV competences to all industries that want to be part of the electric revolution, speeding up their transition - serving as an electric transition gateway for all type of industries".
Piaggio is developing a new 55,000 sqm factory in Jakarta, Indonesia, as additional Far East Asia capacity to its existing plants in Vin Puch (Vietnam) and Foshan (China). With over five million scooters and motorcycles sold every year, Indonesia is the third largest global market - after India and China. In 2021, Piaggio Group increased its sales in Indonesia by 61% with over 50 dedicated sales outlets, including four Motoplex flagship stores for Aprilia, Moto Guzzi, Vespa and Piaggio in Jakarta, Bali, Surabaya and Jogjakarta.
Ducati has followed the example of many other manufacturers in launching a custom programme. The Ducati Unica programme will be operated by Ducati Centro Stile, the company's design department, and allow customers to interact directly with designers - "who will then interpret their desires and create one-off machines to suit their precise demands".
Sources: AMD, IDN, FT, Reuters, PSB, MPN, BDN, MCN, AP, Bloomberg, MSNW, Electrek, electricmotorcycles.news, RideApart.com, Motor1.com, Cycle World, motorbikewriter.com
