Polaris Industries has reported financial and operational highlights for the second quarter of 2023, including sales of $2,217m, up 7% compared to last year. The primary sales drivers were said to be "favourable ship volumes, product mix and net pricing partially offset by higher finance interest". Polaris reports market share gains in Off Road, On Road and Marine segments with overall powersports retail sales for the quarter up 14%. North America unit retail sales for Indian Motorcycle were up over 40%.
Following Honda's inclusion of level 3 Autonomy features into a road-going car (in Japan), Mercedes is rolling out driverless SAE level 3 technologies in Germany, and the U.S. IDTechEx's new report, "Autonomous Cars, Robotaxis and Sensors 2024-2044", suggests that it won't be long before the trickle becomes a flood. Mercedes' S-Class flagship luxury sedan (often a tech trailblazer) has level 3 certification in Germany and the U.S., meaning that for the first time, drivers in these regions will be able to take their hands off the wheel, feet off the pedals, and mind off the driving. Tesla, GM and Ford can all offer hands-free driving on highways in the U.S., but none of these systems are certified for level 3. This distinction means that the driver always needs to pay attention to what the vehicle is doing. Moreover, the driver is always responsible for the vehicle, and if there is an accident, then blaming it on the car's driving will likely not hold up in court. However, now that Mercedes has a certified level 3 vehicle, others are expected to respond quickly.
China's economy fell into deflation for the first time in more than two years, as prices contracted in July. Its consumer-price index fell by 0.3% year on year, after not changing in June. Domestic spending has slowed amid a faltering economic recovery after the pandemic. China also suffered a worse-than-expected drop in exports, which fell by 14.5% year-on-year in dollar terms in July, the biggest decline since February 2020. China's GDP on the other hand continues to grow apace, experiencing a healthy growth rate of 5.5% year-on-year in the first half of 2023, one percentage point faster than the first quarter this year. Total GDP reached RMB 59.3tn (approx. US$8.3tn).
Swedish head protection specialist MIPS has invested $1.3m for a 25% stake in Quin, a Dallas, Texas based sensor-based technology company specialising in event detection and data-driven emergency response protocols, offering specialised sensor fusion and software to helmet brands since 2018. "Quin's proprietary technology turns passive gear into smart companions, connecting the closest emergency services to those in distress". The MIPS system is a helmet additive technology that, after many years of struggling to gain acceptance, has now become an important safety hallmark for leading helmet brands. The deal with Quin could pave the way for MIPS to further develop its brand's safety story.
The Energica Experia, the company's zero emissions electric touring model, has won the Motorcycle News (MCN) 2023 Best Electric Motorcycle award in the United Kingdom. Based near Bologna in Italy, and these days owned by Wall Street listed Ideanomics, Energica is no stranger to the MCN award, having picked it up in 2016 and 2017, respectively, with the Ego and EsseEsse9 models.
Zero Motorcycles has scooped the Gold Award in the transportation category at the prestigious 2023 IDSA International Design Excellence Awards Ceremony for the Zero SR-X.
Independent of any regulatory investigation, it's all systems stop for BMW Motorrad USA as it issued a North American 'Stop Sale' order to dealers in September for all new and used ICE units - following an "internal quality analysis". The cause remained uncertain as IDN went to press, but is believed to relate to a fuel system issue. This does not affect the new BMW CE04 electric bike.
PSB reports that in 2022 the North American UTV market dropped in unit volume for the second straight year by -5.6% in 2022 ("to just under 550,000 units"). This follows ten consecutive years of growth. Of the ten best-selling UTV models, four were made by Polaris and they accounted for 7.2% of the market. For YTD 2023, the ATV market (as it is referred to in MIC data) was down by a further -8.7% to 89,724 units for the first six months (-8,586 units).
Sources: AMD, IDN, FT, Reuters, PSB, MPN, BDN, MCN, AP, Bloomberg, MSNW, Electrek, electricmotorcycles.news, RideApart.com, Motor1.com, Cycle World, motorbikewriter.com
